IRLF 


1L  WINTERHAi/rKV 
APR  1  6 


GIFT   OF 
W.  K.  Winterhalter 


UNIVERSITY  FARM 


<f 


.  K. 


BEET-ROOT  SUGAR 


•;; 


CULTIVATION   OF  THE  BEET, 


BY    E.    B.    GRANT. 


BOSTON: 
LEE    AND     SHEPARD.; 

1867. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1866.  by 

B.  B.  GRANT, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


STEREOTYPED    AT    THB 

BOSTON    STEREOTYPE     FOUNDRY, 

No.  4  Spring  Lane. 


GEO.  C.  RAND  &  AVERY,  Cornhill  Press. 


PREFACE. 


THE  experience  of  Europe  in  the  failure  of  their 
supply  of  cotton,  caused  by  the  late  war,  should  teach 
the  United  States  not  to  depend  too  exclusively  upon 
foreign  countries  for  her  supply  of  so  necessary  an 
article  as  Sugar,  of  which  the  consumption  is  about 
400,000  tons,  while  the  production  of  all  kinds  within 
her  borders  is  less  than  50,000  tons ;  leaving  350,000 
tons  to  be  imported. 

In  case  of  war  with  a  great  maritime  power,  like 
England  or  France,  which  would,  in  part  at  least, 
prevent  importation}  sugars  would  necessarily  advance 
enormously. 

The  emancipation  of  slaves  in  the  only  remaining 
strongholds  of  slavery  —  Cuba  and  Brazil  (which  is 
simply  a  question  of  a  very  few  years)  —  would  prob 
ably,  at  first,  as  it  has  always  done  elsewhere,  diminish 
the  production  of  sugar  in  those  countries  at  least 
fifty  per  cent. 

If  such  should  prove  to  be  the  case,  as  this  pro 
duction  exceeds  600,000  tons,  the  diminution  would 
make  so  serious  an  inroad  upon  the  ordinary  supplies 
of  the  world  that  prices  would  materially  advance. 

It  is,  without  doubt,  within  the  power  of  the  United 

(3) 


4  PREFACE. 

States  to  produce,  within  her  own  borders,  not  only  all 
the  sugar  she  requires  for  home  consumption,  but  also 
to  become  a  large  sugar-exporting  country,  and  that 
within  a  very  few  years.  It  is  believed  that  the  sugar 
beet  is  the  plant  destined  to  effect  this  revolution,  and 
the  reasons  are  set  forth  in  the  following  pages. 

The  object  of  this  book  is  to  call  attention  to  the 
importance  of  beet-sugar  production  in  the  Old  World, 
and  to  demonstrate  the  advantage  and  feasibility  of 
establishing  it  in  the  United  States. 

Part  I.  is  chiefly  devoted  to  the  history  of  beet  sugar, 
and  the  relative  advantages  of  Europe  and  North 
America  for  its  production. 

Part  II.  is  wholly  agricultural  in  its  character,  and 
gives  instruction  for  the  choice  of  soil  suitable  for  the 
cultivation  of  beets  ;  the  methods  of  preservation  ;  of 
raising  the  seed ;  and  of  the  preservation  and  use  of 
the  pulp. 

Basset,  in  his  work,  "  Guide  Pratique  du  Fabricant 
de  Sucre,"  says,  "  The  manufacture  of  sugar  from  beets 
is  one  of  the  most  important  elements  of  public  pros 
perity. 

"  Resting  on  agricultural  progress  and  the  wants  of 
a  constantly  increasing  population,  allied  by  reason 
of  the  cattle  which  it  supports  with  the  production  of 
meat  and  bread,  based  upon  improving  cultivation,  it 
renders  to  modern  society  the  greatest  services,  at  the 
same  time  that  it  attains  for  itself  the  highest  point 
of  prosperity  and  glory  to  which  any  industry  ever 
had  the  ambition  to  aspire." 


CONTENTS. 


PART  I. 

PAGE 

SUGAK.  Supply  of  the  United  States.  —  Manufacture  of 
Beet-root  Sugar  in  Europe. — Location  favorable  for  its 
Production  in  the  United  States.  —  Value  of  Land  and 
of  Coal 7 

HISTORY  OF  BEET-ROOT  SUGAR.  Its  Discovery. — Early 
Experiments. — Extent  of  its  Production  and  Use  in 
Europe.  —  Production  in  France  and  in  Germany.  —  Prices 
from  1816  to  1866.  —  Consumption  of  Sugar  in  Europe.  — 
Production  of  Sugar  in  the  World.  —  Quality  of  Beet-root 
Sugar.  — Taxes 9-25 

SUPPLY  OF  BEETS.     Extent  and  Cost  of  their  Cultivation. 

—  Average    Yield.  —  Saccharine    Contents. — Profits    of 
Cultivation.  —  Cost    in    France.  —  Probable   Cost  in  the 
United  States.  — Advantages  of  Beet  Culture.     .     .     .    26-39 

COST  OF  BEET-ROOT  SUGAR  IN  FRANCE.  Methods  of  Man 
ufacture.— Detailed  Cost  of  Manufacture. —Yield  of 
Sugar.  —  Cost  of  Labor 40-46 

PROFITS  ON  BEET-ROOT  SUGAR.  Estimated  Profits  in  the 
United  States.  — Ability  to  Compete  with  other  Countries. 

—  Eecent  Improvements  in  Europe 47-54 

PRODUCTION  OF  SUGAR  IN  VARIOUS  COUNTRIES.     Relative 

Yield  of  the  Cane  and  of  the  Beet 55,  56 

ATTEMPTS   TO   MANUFACTURE   BEET-ROOT    SUGAR  IN  THE 

UNITED   STATES 57-63 

GENERAL  ADVANTAGES  OF  BEET-ROOT  SUGAR  MANUFAC 
TURE.  Effect  produced  in  Europe  by  the  Manufacture 
of  Beet-root  Sugar.  —  Probable  Effect  of  its  Introduction 
into  the  United  States.  —  Opinions  of  Distinguished 
Men.  .  .  .  ,  .  68-78 


CONTENTS. 


PART  II. 

THE  BEET  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION.  Analysis  of  the  Beet.  — 
Varieties.  —  Choice  of  Beets.  —  Choice  of  Soil.  — Cli 
mate 79-92 

METHOD  OF  RAISING  THE  SUGAR  BEET.  Preparing  the  Soil. 
— Ploughing.  — Manuring.  —  Sowing.  —  Preparation  of  the 
Seed.  —  Seed  Sowers. — Method  of  Sowing. — Weeding. 
—  Thinning  Out.  —  Cultivating.  —  Hoeing.  —  Transplant 
ing. —  Earthing  Up 92-106 

HARVESTING.  Signs  of  Maturity.  —  Effect  of  Frost. — 
Effect  of  Rains  and  of  Drought.— Methods  of  Harvest 
ing 106-110 

PRESERVATION  OF  BEETS.  In  Silos  or  Pits.  —  In  Piles.  — 
Method  in  Saxony. — In  Massachusetts 110-120 

SEED.  Importance  of  selecting  the  Best.  —  German  Method 
of  selecting  Seed  Beets.  —  Method  of  M.  Vilmorin.  — 
Soil  and  Manure  suitable  for  Seed  Beets. — Method  of 
Preserving  Beets  for  Seed.  —  Methods  of  Planting  and 
subsequent  Culture. — Time  of  Harvest. — Method  of 
Saving  the  Seed.  —  Chinese  Method  of  Cultivation.  .  120-126 

MANURES.  General  Effect  of  Manures  on  the  Beet.  — 
French  and  German  Systems  of  Applying  Manures.  — 
Artificial  Fertilizers. — Effect  of  different  Fertilizers  on 
Saccharine  Contents  of  Beets.  —  Stassfurt  Manures. — 
Analysis  of  the  Ashes  of  Beets 126-134 

ROTATION  OF  CROPS 134-136 

BEET  PULP.  Method  of  Preserving  Pulp.  —  Method  of 
Feeding  it  to  Cattle 136-139 

LEAVES  OF  BEETS.  Their  Uses.  —  Methods  of  Preserva 
tion.  —  Their  Effect  upon  Milch  Cows 139-143 

CULTURE  OF  THE  BEET.  Its  Advantages  to  Farmers  and 
the  Country 143 

APPENDIX.     .     .  .     .     144-158 


BEET-ROOT   SUGAR. 


PART     I. 

MY  attention  was  drawn  to  the  question  of  the  sugar 
supply  of  the  United  States  by  the  very  high  prices 
prevailing  in  the  spring  of  1865,  and  I  commenced 
the  investigation  of  the  subject  early  in  the  month  of 
March  of  the  same  year. 

Having  satisfied  myself  of  the  firm  basis  of  the  beet- 
sugar  industry  in  Europe,  and  that  its  establishment 
in  the  United  States  was  not  only  practicable,  but  also 
promised  to  be  highly  remunerative,  I  spent  several 
weeks  in  pursuit  of  that  locality  which  possessed  in 
the  highest  degree  the  advantages  of  cheap  land,  labor, 
fuel,  transportation,  and  also  a  high  market  for  sugar. 

Most  of  these  conditions  are  fulfilled  in  the  region 
which  I  have  selected,  viz., — the  coal  and  prairie  lands 
of  Illinois,  on  the  line  of  the  Chicago  and  Rock  Island 
Railroad,  —  the  territory  being  intersected,  not  only  by 
the  above-named  road,  but  also  by  the  Illinois  River 
and  the  Illinois  Canal,  which  secure  cheap,  easy,  and 
frequent  transportation  to  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  and  the 

(7) 


$  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

Mississippi  River,  with  all  important  points  in  every 
direction. 

The  condition  sought  that  is  unfulfilled  is  that  of 
cheap  labor ;  but  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that,  notwith 
standing  the  high  price  of  labor,  the  peculiarly  favor 
able  nature  of  the  soil  of  Illinois  for  the  use  of  agri 
cultural  machinery  enables  the  farmer  of  that  state 
to  cultivate  land  as  cheaply  as  in  any  part  of  the 
world.  For  the  enterprise  in  question,  moreover,  it  is 
believed  that  the  location  is  a  favorable  one,  for  it  is 
in  the  midst  of  a  German  population,  many  of  whom 
have  had  experience,  in  their  own  country,  in  the  cul 
tivation  of  beets  and  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar. 

Land  can  be  bought  at  from  twenty-five  dollars  to 
forty-five  dollars  per  acre.  "  Slack  "  or  coal  screenings 
can  be  had  at  factory  for  one  dollar  and  twenty-five 
cents  per  ton  ;  and  sugar  is  usually  worth  at  Chicago, 
by  reason  of  its  distance  from  the  present  sources  of 
supply,  from  one  to  one  and  one  half  cents  per  pound 
more  than  upon  the  seaboard. 

Having  satisfied  myself  that  the  manufacture  of 
beet  sugar  in  the  State  of  Illinois  promised  to  be  prof 
itable,  it  remained  to  acquaint  myself  with  the  pro 
cess  and  condition  of  its  manufacture  in  Europe ; 
and  for  that  purpose  I  sailed  from  the  United  States, 
early  in  December  last,  furnished  with  letters  which 
have  given  me  access  to  every  establishment  that  I 
desired  to  visit  in  France  and  Germany. 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET. 


HISTORY  OF  BEET  SUGAR. 

I  will  proceed  to  give  a  sketch  of  the  history  of 
the  beet-sugar  manufacture  in  Europe,  but  principally 
that  of  France,  where  this  branch  of  industry  is  carried 
on  more  scientifically  and  successfully  than  in  any  other 
country. 

The  beet  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  Turkey,  and  to 
have  been  introduced  into  France  about  the  year  1595. 

In  the  year  1 747,  MargrafF,  a  Prussian  chemist,  dis 
covered  that  sugar  was  contained  in  beets,  and  advised 
his  countrymen  to  cultivate  them  for  the  purpose  of 
making  sugar. 

In  1773,  Achard,  a  Prussian  chemist,  tried  various 
experiments  for  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar,  under 
the  patronage  of  Frederick  the  Great.  Prevented  for 
a  time,  by  the  death  of  Frederick,  from  pursuing  his 
investigation,  he  did  not  again  attempt  it  until  1795, 
when  he  planted  sixty  or  seventy  acres  with  beets. 
In  the  year  1799  he  presented  several  loaves  of  beet 
sugar  to  the  King  of  Prussia.  He  reported  that  he 
had  produced  a  good  quality  of  raw  sugar  at  sixty- 
five  centimes  a  kilogramme,  or  about  six  cents  per 
pound,  and  expressed  the  belief  that  his  process  was 
susceptible  of  improvements  that  would  reduce  the 
cost  one  half.  This  report  of  Achard  having  been 
published  in  the  annals  of  chemistry  ("  Annales  de 
Chimie"),  a  committee,  consisting  of  some  of  the 
most  distinguished  chemists  of  France,  was  appointed 
by  the  Institute,  to  investigate  the  merits  of  Achard's 


IO  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

discovery.  Their  report  stated  that  the  amount  of 
sugar  extracted  was  rather  less  than  one  per  cent., 
and  the  enterprise  was  abandoned,  until  Napoleon  I. 
again  called  attention  to  the  subject,  and  appointed  a 
new  committee  to  conduct  further  experiments.  M. 
Deyeux,  a  member  of  this  committee,  made  his  report 
in  1810,  and  presented  two  loaves  of  sugar,  equal  in 
every  respect  to  the  best  sugar  from  the  cane. 

In  this  report  neither  the  percentage  of  sugar  ob 
tained  nor  the  cost  of  production  was  given.  Reports 
not  well  verified  were  published  that  in  Germany  from 
four  to  six  per  cent,  of  sugar  had  been  obtained. 

By  the  experiments  of  M.  Barruel,  from  fifty  to 
sixty  per  cent,  only  of  juice  was  obtained  from  the 
beet ;  whereas  the  production  at  the  present  time  is 
from  eighty  to  eighty-five  per  cent.  The  yield  of 
sugar  was  about  one  and  one  half  per  cent.,  while  at 
the  present  time  in  France  it  is  about  seven ;  in  Ger 
many,  eight  to  nine ;  and  in  Russia,  nine  to  ten  per 
cent.  The  cost  was  nearly  thirty  cents  per  pound, 
while  at  the  present  time  it  is  about  four  cents. 

M.  Derosne,  a  Frenchman,  obtained  about  this 
time  two  per  cent,  of  sugar  from  the  beet.  Other 
experiments  yielded  two  and  one  half  per  cent.  A 
factory  working  500  tons  of  beets  in  a  season  was 
considered  quite  extensive.  There  are  establishments 
now  in  operation  that  work  60,000  tons. 

A  rasp  then  worked  up  about  three  tons  per  diem. 
Now,  from  150  to  300  tons  a  day  are  consumed  by 
one  rasp. 

In  1812  the  continental  blockade  favored  the  estab 
lishment  of  the  beet-sugar  industry.  The  cost  of 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  II 

manufacturing  sugar  was  about  105  francs  the  hun 
dred  kilogrammes  (say  nine  cents  per  pound). 

Chemical  schools  and  imperial  factories  were  estab 
lished,  and  government  ordered  the  cultivation  of 
100,000  acres  of  beets.  The  sum  of  $200,000  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  minister  of  agriculture, 
with  which  to  encourage  the  production.  Five  hun 
dred  licenses  to  manufacture  were  given,  and  the  in 
digenous  sugar  was  exempt  from  duty  for  four  years. 
The  political  events  of  1814  caused  the  failure  of  all 
the  beet-sugar  manufacturers  but  one,  M.  Crespel 
Delisse,  who  continued  to  work. 

Tn  December,  1814,  the  impost  on  beet  sugar  was 
fixed  at  forty  francs  the  one  hundred  kilogrammes,  — 
about  three  and  one  third  cents  per  pound,  —  and  the 
duty  on  foreign  sugars  at  fifty  per  cent,  advance  (say 
five  cents  per  pound).  This  infused  new  life  into  the 
industry  ;  manufacturers  introduced  great  improve 
ments  in  their  establishments,  improving  the  processes 
of  rasping  and  pressing  to  such  an  extent  that  they 
obtained  seventy  per  cent,  of  juice  from  the  beet,  in 
lieu  of  fifty  and  sixty. 

Bone  black,  or  animal  charcoal,  was  used  in  filtra 
tion.  Machinery  driven  by  wind  and  water,  as  well 
as  by  horses  and  oxen,  replaced  the  more  slow  and 
costly  processes  of  hand  labor. 

The  yield  of  sugar  was  from  three  to  four  per  cent., 
and  of  molasses  about  five  per  cent.  M.  Crespel  De 
lisse  claimed  that  he  obtained  five  per  cent,  sugar  and 
4.8  molasses.  The  cost  of  manufacturing  was  about 
eighty-five  francs  the  hundred  kilogrammes  (say  seven 
cents  per  pound).  From  1822  to  1830  the  number 


12  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

of  manufactories  largely  increased.  The  yield  of 
sugar  was  about  five  per  cent.,  and  the  cost  of  pro 
duction  from  sixty  to  seventy  francs  the  hundred  kil 
ogrammes  (average,  say  five  and  one  half  cents  per 
pound). 

In  1825  France  produced  5000  tons  of  sugar  in  over 
one  hundred  establishments.  From  1830  to  1836  great 
progress  was  made.  The  sugar  produced  was  of  im 
proved  quality,  and  amounted  to  about  five  per  cent, 
of  the  weight  of  beets  worked.  The  introduction  of 
steam  power  increased  the  means  of  production  ten 
fold.  In  1836  four  hundred  and  thirty-six  factories 
were  in  operation. 

The  intimate  relation  between  this  branch  of  in 
dustry  and  agriculture  developed  itself,  and  there 
were  no  longer  unimproved  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  a 
sugar  manufactory.  In  the  department  of  the  North, 
where  the  industry  was  most  firmly  established,  the 
number  of  acres  under  cultivation  in  grain  increased 
enormously,  the  beet  pulp  furnishing  farmers  with  the 
means  of  feeding  an  increased  number  of  cattle,  thus 
providing  the  means  of  fertilizing  an  increased  amount 
of  land. 

In  1837  government  laid  a  manufacturer's  tax  on 
domestic  sugars  of  fifteen  francs  the  hundred  kilo 
grammes  (say  one  and  one  fourth  cents  per  pound). 
This  caused  the  failure  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-six 
establishments. 

In  1837  M.  Payen,  professor  of  the  a  School  of 
Arts  and  Manufactures,"  in  a  communication  to  the 
"  Royal  and  Central  Agricultural  Society,"  stated  that 
beets  in  a  fresh  state  contained  ten  per  cent,  of  crys- 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET.  13 

tallizable  sugar.  They  contained  no  uncrystallizable 
sugar,  neither  grape  nor  mannite. 

Nevertheless,  by  the  processes  in  actual  use  there 
was  obtained  but  five  or  six  per  cent,  in  the  two  or 
three  first  months  after  harvest,  and  later  in  the  sea 
son  three  to  four  per  cent,  only ;  the  whole  average 
being  but  four  to  five  per  cent. 

He  expressed  the  belief  that  inasmuch  as  the  beet 
contained  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  juice,  while  there 
was  but  seventy  per  cent,  extracted,  the  yield  of 
sugar  might  be  largely  increased.* 

In  order  to  stimulate  improvement,  the  "  Society  for 
the  Encouragement  of  Beet-sugar  Manufacture "  of 
fered  a  prize  of  10,000  francs  to  the  person  who  should 

*  The  sugar  beet  actually  contains  ninety- five  per  cent,  of  juice, 
of  which  only  eighty  is  usually  extracted,  although  eighty-five 
per  cent,  is  occasionally  obtained.  Robert  de  Massy,  of  St. 
Quentin,  in  France,  has  invented  a  method  by  which  he  claims 
to  obtain  ninety-three  per  cent.  The  inventor  is  a  very  wealthy, 
as  well  as  an  ingenious  man,  and  claims  that  his  process  will  not 
only  increase  the  yield  of  sugar  from  one  to  one  and  a  half  per 
cent.,  but  will  also  materially  lessen  expenses,  as  it  dispenses  with 
all  the  hydraulic  presses,  hurdles,  and  sacks,  besides  diminishing  the 
number  of  workmen  required  in  the  factory.  —  I  visited  Mr.  De 
Massy's  sugar  factory  at  Busigny  last  winter  with  the  proprietor, 
to  see  the  apparatus  in  operation,  but  an  accident  prevented  its 
working.  Since  my  return,  Mr.  De  Massy,  through  the  "  Jour 
nal  des  Fabricants  de  Sucre,"  invited  all  the  manufacturers  to  visit 
Busigny  on  the  15th  of  May,  for  the  purpose  of  s  eing  the  appa 
ratus  at  work.  The  amount  of  juice  obtained  at  this  trial  was 
eighty-nine  per  cent. ;  but  I  infer  from  reading  the  article  in  which 
an  account  of  the  meeting  is  given,  that  the  experiment  did  not 
thoroughly  satisfy  the  manufacturers  present  of  the  value  of  the 
invention  in  its  then  existing  state. 


14  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

find  the  means  of  extracting  from  beets  containing  ten 
per  cent,  (without  increasing  the  usual  cost  of  manu 
facture)  eight  per  cent,  of  crystallized  sugar  in  the 
first  four  months  of  working,  and  10,000  francs  to  any 
one  who  should  extract  eight  per  cent,  crystallized 
sugar  from  any  beets,  without  regard  to  the  degree  of 
richness  or  time  of  manufacture. 

I  annex  a  table  in  which  is  shown  the  contrast 
between  the  average  results  obtained  in  1837,  accord 
ing  to  Mr.  Pay  en,  and  those  of  1865  :  — 

1837.  1865. 

Yield  of  beets  to  an  acre,     .  12  tons.       .  .16  tons. 

Price  of  beets  per  ton,      .     .  $3.00.    .     .  .   $3.25. 

Percentage  of  sugar  con 
tained  in  beets,  ....  10  per  cent.  .  11  1-2  per  cent. 

Percentage  of  sugar  pro 
duced  from  beets, .  .  .  .  4  1-5  ««  •  .  .  7  " 

Cost  of  sugar  per  pound,      .  7  3-10  cents  .   4  cents 

Sugar  produced  in  France,     .  49,000  tons.  .    270,000  tons. 

The  production  of  sugar,  which  had  risen  to  49,000 
tons  in  1837,  ^e^  to  395°°°  m  l%Z9i  and  to  22,000  in 
1840. 

The  history  of  the  beet-sugar  industry  from  the  year 
1837  n^arly  to  the  present  day,  is  but  the  record  of  a 
struggle  on  the  part  of  the  cane-sugar  manufacturers 
of  the  French  colonies  with  their  formidable  rivals 
the  beet-sugar  manufacturers  of  France  :  — 

In  1843,  the  beet  sugar  produced,  was,    .     .     .  28,000  tons. 

"  colonial  sugar  imported 83,000  " 

In  1848,  beet  sugar  produced, 56,000  •• 

"  colonial  sugar  imported, 62,000  " 

In  1850,  beet  sugar  produced 64,000  " 

"        colonial  sugar  imported, 46.000    " 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  l£ 

To-day  the  French  colonists  have  a  protection  on  their 
sugars  in  France  of  five  francs  the  hundred  kilogrammes 
(about  half  a  cent  per  pound).  The  beet-sugar  man 
ufacturers  have  no  protection,  competing  at  a  disad 
vantage  with  French  colonial  sugar,  and  upon  equal 
terms  with  the  products  of  the  rest  of  the  world. 
Notwithstanding  this,  the  following  figures  show  the 
relative  importance  of  the  French  traffic  in  native, 
foreign,  and  colonial  sugars  in  the  year  1865-6 :  — 

Colonial  importations 76,103  tons. 

Foreign  "  144,083     " 

Beet  sugar  manufactured, 270,000     " 

Beet  sugar  fifty-five  per  cent,  of  the  total  traffic.  The 
exportation  of  refined  sugar  for  the  same  period  was 
114,150  tons,  mostly  of  foreign  and  colonial  sugars, 
owing  to  the  policy  of  the  French  government,  which, 
to  encourage  its  commerce,  accords  an  advantage  to 
the  refiner  of  foreign  sugar  for  exportation,  leaving 
the  supply  of  the  home  consumption  almost  entirely 
in  the  hands  of  the  manufacturers  of  beet  sugar. 

Except  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  seaboard 
cities  of  France,  no  sugar  is  used  but  the  beet.  The 
same  is  true  of  Germany.  Not  an  ounce  of  any  other 
is  consumed  in  Paris,  Vienna,  Berlin,  Dresden, 
Leipsic,  or  Munich. 

In  1853-4  tne  high  price  of  alcohol  —  one  hundred 
and  eighty-five  francs  the  hectolitre  (one  dollar  and 
fifty-seven  cents  per  gallon)  —  induced  some  twenty 
manufacturers  of  sugar  to  convert  their  factories  into 
distilleries,  and  in  1854-5  nearly  one  hundred  more 
pursued  the  same  course. 


1 6  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

Since  1840  the  production  of  beet  sugar  in  France 
has  doubled  every  ten  years. 

In  1830  the  consumption  of  sugar  in  France  was 
about  two  pounds  per  head,  of  which  the  beet-sugar 
manufacturer  produced  nine  per  cent. 

In  1865  the  consumption  was  over  fourteen  pounds 
per  head,  and  the  beet-sugar  manufacturer  produced 
more  than  enough  to  supply  the  home  demand,  al 
though  the  total  consumption  had  in  the  mean  time 
increased  tenfold. 

There  were  sixty  manufactories  of  beet  sugar  in 
Austria  in  1840 ;  in  1865  the  number  had  increased  to 
one  hundred  and  forty. 

The  states  of  the  Zollverein  have  nearly  quadrupled 
their  production  in  the  past  fifteen  years,  52,586  tons 
having  been  produced  in  1850,  against  180,000  tons  in 
1865-6.  In  the  same  time  the  quantity  of  imported 
sugar  has  fallen  from  52,568  tons  to  12,562  tons, 
proving  that  cane  sugar  is  almost  entirely  expelled 
from  Germany.  In  1865-6  there  were  thirty  new 
establishments  built  in  Germany,  and  many  old  ones 
enlarged  their  machinery. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  following  table  which  gives 
an  idea  of  the  importance  and  progress  of  this  indus 
try,  that  although  the  number  of  factories  was  but 
ninety-six  in  1845,  against  one  hundred  and  forty- 
five  in  1840,  yet  the  amount  of  sugar  produced  was 
greater.  Establishments  were  consolidated  and  en 
larged,  it  being  found  economical  to  work  upon  a 
more  extended  scale.  This  table  also  shows  the  in 
creasing  tax  paid  upon  the  raw  beets,  which  rose 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET. 


from  twelve  cents  per  ton  in  1840  to  three  dollars  and 
fifty-six  cents  in  1865. 

TABLE 

Showing  approximately  the  Quantities  of  Beets  used 
in  the  Manufactories  of  the  Zollverein,  the  Prod- 
ticts  extracted,  and  Rate  of  Taxation,  from  1840-1 
to  1865-6. 


*s 

•8 

i 

m 

I 

oT 

|I 

j 

V 

fft 

'o 

co'o 

1° 

• 

h 

Ol 

O  p) 

? 

o 

S+: 

«3 

s 

sl 

*§ 

si 

O 

§•*•• 

0  cS 

a 
be 

E3 

CS  fl 

l! 

x« 

in 

&*" 

m 

M 

^ 

H 

CO 

^ 

H 

H 

1840 

145 

241,486 

13,445 

8,955 

18 

5.55 

3.7 

9.25 

.12 

1845 

96 

222,754 

14,850 

6,905 

15 

6.67 

3.1 

9.77 

.71 

1850 

184 

736,215 

52,586 

19,877 

14 

7.14 

2.7 

9.84 

1.42 

1851 

234 

914,495 

60,966 

27,434 

15 

6.67 

3 

9.67 

1.42 

1858 

257 

1,833,427 

146,674 

45,835 

12.5 

8 

2.5 

10.50 

3.56 

1860 

247 

1,467,701 

126,526 

35,224 

11.6 

8.62 

2.4 

11.02 

3.56 

1861 

242 

1,584,619 

122,838 

38,050 

12.9 

7.75 

2.4 

10.15 

3.56 

1862 

247 

1,835,663 

138,042 

44,055 

13 

7.52 

2.4 

9.92 

3.56 

1863 

253 

1,999,576 

151,180 

47,989 

13.2 

7.55 

2.4 

9.95 

3.56 

1864 

270 

2,079,729 

165,978 

49,913 

12.4 

7.98 

2.4 

10.28 

3.56 

1865 

300 

2,106,000 

180,000 

50,544 

11.7 

8.54 

2.4 

10.94 

3.56 

The  average  yield  of  sugar  for  the  past  eight  years 
has  been  over  eight  per  cent.,  and  of  molasses  about 
2.40 ;  but  this  includes,  of  course,  the  results  of  all  the 
poorly  managed  establishments,  many  of  which  are 
worked  by  the  old  process.  I  have  visited  several 
establishments  where  the  yield  of  sugar  averaged 
nine  per  cent.,  and  of  molasses  two  and  a  half  to  three 
per  cent.,  throughout  the  season. 

In  France,  too,  where  the  whole  average  yield  is 
perhaps  rather  less  than  seven  per  cent,  of  sugar,  I 


1 8  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

know  of  establishments,  working  by  improved  pro 
cesses,  where  the  yield  is  from  seven  and  three  fourths 
to  eight  per  cent,  of  superior  sugar,  and  from  three 
to  three  and  a  half  per  cent,  of  molasses. 

There  were  86,000  acres  of  land  in  cultivation  with 
beets  in  France  in  1850,  and  297,000  acres  in  1865. 
The  product  from  this  land  was  manufactured  into 
sugar  and  alcohol,  270,000  tons  of  the  former  and 
6,000,000  gallons  of  the  latter  having  been  produced 
in  1865. 

The  products  obtained  from  beets  in  France,  in 
about  the  following  proportions,  are,  pulp,  twenty  per 
cent. ;  sugar,  seven  per  cent. ;  alcohol,  three  fourths 
per  cent. ;  potash,  one  fifth  per  cent. ;  soda,  one  tenth 
per  cent. 

The  pulp  is  the  refuse  of  the  beet  after  the  extrac 
tion  of  the  juice.  It  is  fed  to  cattle  and  sheep,  which 
are  extremely  fond  of  it,  and  are  quickly  fattened 
upon  it. 

It  is  worth  from  two  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents 
to  three  dollars  per  ton  at  the  factories,  and  is  esti 
mated  to  be  worth,  for  feeding  purposes,  one  third  as 
much  as  the  best  hay. 

After  the  sugar  is  extracted  from  the  juice  there 
remains  about  three  per  cent,  of  the  original  weight 
of  the  beet  in  the  form  of  molasses,  from  which  alcohol 
is  distilled. 

The  molasses,  which  usually  sells  at  from  fifteen  to 
eighteen  cents  per  gallon,  produces  twenty-five  per 
cent,  of  90°  alcohol.  The  cost  of  distillation  is  less 
than  twenty  cents  per  gallon  of  alcohol. 

After  the  extraction  of  the   alcohol,  there  remains 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET.  19 

from  ten  to  twelve  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the 
molasses  in  the  following  salts,  in  the  proportions 
given  below :  — 

Per  cent. 

Carbonate  of  potash,        40.33 

Sulphate  of  potash, 2.46 

Hydrochlorate  of  potash, 22.10 

Soda 34.14 

Sulphur  and  divers  matters, 97 

100.00 

The  potash  and  the  soda  are  extracted  at  a  cost  not 
exceeding  three  and  a  half  cents  per  pound. 

The  following  table  shows  the  average  prices,  ex 
clusive  of  duties,  of  No.  12  raw  sugar  in  Paris  from 
1816  to  1828:  — 

1816  12-3^  cents.  J823  8^  cents. 

1817  ii  A      "  1824  ioT3<y      " 

1818  i2TV      "  1825  9^      " 

1819  n-fs      "  1826 

1820  ioT8^   "  1827 

1821  ioT8<y   "  1828  9^   " 

1822  7^  " 

From  1828  to  1854  *ne  Price  gradually  fell,  and  the 
following  table  shows  the  average  prices  from  1854 
to  1865:  — 

1854  5T8iy  cents.  1860       6TV  cents. 

1855  6          "  1861       5^      « 

1856  6TV     "  1862 

1857  7T6(i     "  1863 

1858  $£>      "  1864 

1859  6A     "  1865 


2O  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

The  price  in  April,  1866,  was  four  and  three  fourths 
cents  per  pound. 

The  preceding  table  shows  that  the  price  of  sugar 
has  constanly  fallen  since  1816.  Yet  production  has 
steadily  increased. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  price  of  sugars,  exclusive  of 
duties,  was  in  1816  about  three  times  greater  than 
at  present.  But  this  does  not  fully  convey  an  idea  of 
the  difference  in  the  state  of  things  existing  then  and 
now. 

From  1816  to  1833  beet  sugars  were  protected  by  a 
duty  on  foreign  sugars  varying  from  five  to  eight  cents 
per  pound. 

From  1833  to  1840  they  had  a  protection  of  two 
and  one  fourth  to  five  and  three  fourth  cents  per 
pound. 

From  1840  to  1860  they  were  protected  by  a  duty 
of  from  one  to  three  and  a  half  cents  per  pound  on 
foreign  sugar. 

From  1860  to  the  present  time,  not  only  has  there 
been  no  protection  as  against  foreign  sugars,  but  sugars 
of  the  French  colonies  have  had  an  advantage  over  all 
others  of  nearly  half  a  cent  per  pound. 

In  addition  to  constantly  diminishing  price,  with 
steadily  decreasing  protection,  wages  have  doubled, 
and  it  is  to  increased  skill  alone  that  beet-sugar  manu 
facture  owes  its  present  existence. 

The  following  table  shows  the  production  of  beet 
sugar  in  France  from  1828  to  1865  :  — 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET. 


21 


Year. 

Tons. 

Year. 

Tons. 

Year. 

Tons. 

1828 

4,665 

1841 

26,000 

1854 

77,000 

1829 

4,380 

1842 

30,000 

1855 

45,000 

1830 

5,500 

1843 

28,000 

1856 

92,000 

1831 

7,000 

1844 

30,000 

1857 

80,874 

1832 

9,000 

1845 

37,000 

1858 

150,444 

1833 

12,000 

1846 

49,000 

1859 

131,762 

1834 

20,000 

1847 

60.000 

1860 

130,000 

1835 

30,000 

1848 

53,000 

1861 

146,414 

1836 

40,000 

1849 

44,000 

1862 

173,675 

1837 

49,000 

1850 

64,000 

1863 

108,495 

1838 

47,000 

1851 

75,000 

1864 

145,745 

1839 

39,000 

1852 

60,000 

1865 

270,000 

1840 

22,000 

1853  i  75,000 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  beet-sugar 
manufactories  in  Europe,  with  their  production,  in 
!  865-6:  — 


France, 

270,000  1 

ion 

Holland, 

5,000 

u 

Austria, 

80,000 

u 

Zollverein, 

180,000 

u 

Russia, 

50,000 

u 

Belgium, 

30,000 

a 

Poland, 

14,000 

a 

Sweden, 

1,000 

u 

Total, 

630,000 

8 

u 

2           " 

140 

u 

unknown. 

300 

(( 

14  building. 

438 

11 

unknown. 

63 

It 

2  building. 

54 

a 

2            " 

3 

(I 

unknown. 

1426 


38 


It  is  stated  by  Mr.  William  Reed,  an  English  au 
thority,  that  Great  Britain,  which  consumed  10,000 
tons  of  sugar  in  1700,  consumes  at  the  present  time 
566,000  tons. 

Consumption  of  sugar  in  the  following  countries  in 
1865:  — 


22  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

Tons.  Pounds  per  head. 

Great  Britain,     ....  566,220  37T3tf 

France,      ......  268,200  14^ 

Switzerland,        ....        18,000  14! 

Zollverein, 150,000  9 

Spain  and  Portugal,     .     .       60,000  6 

Italy,  Turkey,  and  Greece,  110,000  5^ 

Sweden  and  Norway,  .     .       15,000  5 

Poland, 10,000  4 

Austria, 50,000  2§- 

Russia, 57?ooo  if 

Holland,  Belgium,  &c.,  50,000 


Total, 1,354,420 

From  the  two  preceding  tables  it  appears  that 
Europe  produced  from  beets  in  1865-6  nearly  one 
half  her  consumption. 

The  chief  sugar-producing  plants  are  the  sugar-cane 
(Arundo  saccharifcra),  the  beet  {Beta  vulgaris}, 
the  date-palm  (Phoenix  sylvestris],  and  the  sugar- 
maple  (Acer  sacch arinuni). 

The  total  production  of  sugar  in  the  world  is  not 
far  from  2,800,000  tons,  in  about  the  following  pro 
portions  :  — 

Sugar-cane,  71.42  percent.,  or  2,000,000  tons. 

Beet,  22.50         "          "      630,000     " 
Palm,  5.00         "          "      140,000     " 

Maple,  i. 08         "          "       30,000     " 


2,800,000 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  beet  furnishes  nearly  one 


CULTIVATION   OF   THE   BEET.  23 

quarter  (twenty-two  and  a  half  per  cent.)  of  the  sugar 
of  the  world. 

Arnold  Baruchson  &  Co.,  in  giving  the  statement 
of  the  London  sugar  market  in  their  circular  of  March 
10,  1866,  say,  "  The  greatest  attention  ought  to  be 
paid  by  dealers  to  the  beet-sugar  crop  of  Europe,  for 
it  is  clear  that  before  long  she  will  produce  all  her 
own  sugar." 

There  was  formerly  a  prejudice  in  the  minds  of 
many  people  against  beet  sugar ;  but  it  is  perfectly 
well  ascertained,  that,  if  properly  refined,  it  cannot  be 
distinguished  from  the  best  sugar  of  sugar-cane,  either 
by  taste,  appearance,  or  chemical  analysis :  the  two 
are  identical. 

William  Reed,  of  London,  says,  in  his  recently  pub 
lished  work,  "  History  of  Sugar  and  Sugar-yielding 
Plants,"  "  Beet-root  sugar  is  not  only  identical  in  every 
respect  with  cane  sugar,  but  much  of  the  Dutch  lump 
sugar  is  actually  the  produce  of  beet  root.  The  cir 
cumstance  cannot  be  too  much  insisted  upon,  that  the 
seeming  distinction  between  yellow  beet  sugar  and 
yellow  cane  sugar  depends  on  the  extraneous  colored 
matters  present.  These,  when  eliminated  by  re 
fining,  leave  white  materials  in  all  respects  identical. 
There  is  positively  no  difference  between  these  two, 
whether  of  color  or  of  grain.  Grain  or  crystals  can 
from  either  be  developed  to  the  size  of  the  largest 
candy  if  desired ;  in  fact,  at  the  present  moment 
(1866),  France  is  sending  here  large  white  crystals, 
produced  from  beet  root,  to  compete  with  London, 
Bristol,  and  Scotch,  and  other  crystal  manufactories." 

With  the  exception  of  London,  most  of  the  principal 


24  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

cities  of  Europe  use  no  other  sugar  than  that  of  the 
beet ;  and  even  in  England  the  consumption  is  rapidly 
increasing,  Great  Britain  having,  in  the  year  1865,  im 
ported  70,000  tons,  which  is  in  high  favor  with  the 
refiners. 

The  "Journal  des  Fabricants  cle  Sucre,"  in  its 
issue  of  January  4,  1866,  says,  "  One  of  the  most  re 
markable  and  interesting  facts  of  the  past  year  k  the 
exportation  of  considerable  quantities  of  beet  sugar 
from  France  to  England  —  a  country  that  not  many 
years  ago  tried  to  stifle  the  beet-sugar  industry  in  its 
infancy." 

Referring  to  the  fact  that  Achard,  the  Prusian  chem 
ist,  stated  that,  after  the  first  report  of  his  discoveries  in 
making  sugar  from  the  beet  had  been  published,  the 
English  government,  frightened  by  the  effect  it  might 
have  upon  trade  with  their  West  India  colonies, 
offered  him  a  large  sum  of  money  to  acknowledge 
publicly  that  he  had  been  mistaken  in  the  result  of  his 
experiments.  But  he  indignantly  refused  the  humili 
ating  offer,  and  continued  to  publish  the  results  of  his 
labors. 

The  cost  of  producing  from  the  beet  a  pure  white 
sugar,  entirely  free  from  unpleasant  smell  or  taste,  is 
but  a  trifle  more  than  is  required  to  produce  a  lower 
grade.  In  Germany  refined  loaf  sugar  is  produced 
directly  from  the  beet.  In  France  the  brown  is  first 
produced,  and  then  refined.  Within  the  last  two 
years,  however,  sugar  has  been  produced  of  such 
purity  and  whiteness,  that  it  has  been  sold  directly 
for  consumption  without  refining ;  and  there  is  no 
question  that  the  peculiar  odor  of  the  beet  may  be 
entirely  got  rid  of  in  the  manufactory. 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  25 

Such  is  the  present  condition  of  beet-sugar  manur 
facture  in  Europe.  More  than  one  third  of  the  sugar 
there  consumed  is  made  from  beets  ;  and  the  progress 
of  the  industry  is  such,  that  it  is  perfectly  clear,  that 
within  a  few  years  the  importation  of  sugar  into 
Europe  will  entirely  cease. 

It  is  the  constant  effort  of  the  French  sugar  manu 
facturer  at  the  present  day  to  induce  government  to 
reduce  the  duties  and  imposts  on  sugar,  feeling  that  the 
reduction  in  the  price  consequent  upon  such  action 
would  largely  increase  consumption.  He  does  not 
ask  for  protection  against  the  manufacturers  of  cane  su 
gar  in  any  part  of  the  world  ;  for  although  the  industry 
is  entirely  the  creation  of  the  protective  policy,  yet  un 
der  it  so  great  an  amount  of  skill  has  been  acquired, 
and  the  cost  of  manufacture  has  consequently  been  so 
reduced,  that  he  is  now  able  to  compete  upon  equal 
terms  with  the  whole  world. 

In  France,  the  impost  is  laid  upon  the  sugar  pro 
duced  ;  in  Belgium,  it  was  formerly  laid  upon  the  juice 
expressed  from  the  beets ;  but  at  present  it  is  upon 
the  sugar,  as  in  France  ;  in  Germany,  upon  the  beets ; 
in  Austria,  upon  the  sugar  produced,  or  upon  an  agreed 
estimate  of  the  capacity  of  the  mill ;  in  Russia,  upon 
the  hydraulic  presses.  It  varies  in  the  different  coun 
tries  from  forty  to  eighty-five  dollars  per  ton. 


26  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 


SUPPLY   OF   BEETS. 

Having  given  an  account  of  the  rise  and  progress 
of  the  sugar  industry  in  Europe,  and  demonstrated, 
as  I  trust,  that  it  rests  upon  a  firm  basis,  I  shall  pro 
ceed  to  consider  the  feasibility  of  establishing  it  in  this 
country. 

In  comparing  the  relative  positions  of  the  two  coun 
tries,  I  shall  draw  my  comparisons  chiefly  with 
France,  as  the  representative  of  Europe,  the  condi 
tions  of  trade  there  being  more  nearly  akin  to  those 
of  the  United  States  than  in  any  other  country ;  reli 
able  statistics  in  this  department  of  industry  are  more 
readily  procured  there  than  elsewhere  in  Europe,  and 
the  spirit  of  enterprise  is  so  great  among  Frenchmen, 
that  whatever  improvement  in  the  manufacture  of  su 
gar  has  been  originated  elsewhere,  it  has  been  seized 
upon,  improved,  and  perfected  in  France. 

And  first  as  to  the  ability  to  procure  in  the  United 
States  raw  beets,  of  good  saccharine  properties,  upon 
reasonable  terms. 

The  experience  of  Europe  shows  that  beet  of  rich 
quality  can  be  profitably  cultivated  from  the  Medi 
terranean  to  the  North  Sea,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  heart  of  Russia. 

M.  Mauny  de  Mornay  says  of  the  beet,  that  "  all  cli 
mates  seem  to  suit  it.  It  flourishes  in  the  north  and 
in  the  south.  Moisture  favors  its  development,  but 
drought  does  not  prevent  its  yielding  good  products. 
It  may  be  regarded  as  the  only  root  cultivated  in  Pro- 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  27 

vence  that  also  succeeds  in  the  centre  of  the  empire." 
Tomlinson  says,  in  his  Cyclopedia,  "  It  has  been 
shown  by  practical  experiment  and  chemical  analysis, 
that  there  is  no  material  difference  in  beet  grown  over 
a  region  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Caspian 
Sea,  and  from  the  Mediterranean  Sea  nearly  to  the 
Arctic  Ocean." 

The  universal  testimony  of  the  che-mists,  manufac 
turers,  and  farmers,  with  whom  I  conversed,  was,  that 
any  good  wheat  land  was  suitable  for  beets.  The 
sugar  beet  is  almost  identical  with  the  mangel  wur- 
zel,  the  cultivation  of  which  for  stock  has  been  very 
extensively  and  successfully  practised  in  the  Northern 
and  Western  States. 

Repeated  analyses  made  in  the  United  States  of 
beets,  as  well  as  of  carrots,  and  other  sugar-containing 
vegetables,  show  that  they  contain  as  much  sugar  as 
similar  vegetables  in  Europe. 

An  analysis  made  of  sugar  beets,  raised  in  Illinois, 
showed  that  they  contained  twelve  and  one  half  per  cent. 
(12^-)  of  crystallizable  sugar  in  October,  and  eleven 
and  four  tenths  per  cent,  in  the  following  spring.  A 
fair  average  percentage  of  sugar  in  the  beet  of  France 
is  eleven  and  one  half  per  cent.,  in  Germany  it  is  about 
thirteen  per  cent.,  and  in  Russia  even  richer. 

The  quality  of  the  beet  has  been  very  much  im 
proved  within  a  few  years,  and  within  the  last  year 
extraordinary  results  have  been  attained,  beets  having 
been  produced,  containing  even  as  high  as  eighteen  per 
cent,  of  sugar.  In  one  instance  twenty-one  per  cent, 
was  contained.  • 

The  quality  of  the  beet,  as  well  as  the   amount  ex- 


28  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

tracted  from  it,  is  largely  affected  by  legislation  and 
the  price  of  labor.  In  France  the  impost  tax  is  laid 
on  the  sugar  produced ;  the  consequence  is,  that  the 
farmer  strives  for  large  crops,  beets  being  sold  by  the 
ton,  and  he  pays  comparatively  little  heed  to  the 
quality. 

In  Germany,  however,  the  impost  is  laid  upon  the 
beet ;  the  cultivator  consequently  strives  to  produce  a 
beet  rich  in  sugar,  paying  greater  attention  to  quality 
than  to  quantity. 

In  France  labor  is  comparatively  high,  and  the 
manufacturer  is  contented  to  obtain  in  sugar  and  mo 
lasses  within  two  per  cent,  of  all  the  saccharine  matter 
contained  in  the  beet,  the  extraction  of  the  last  two 
per  cent,  being  costly  in  labor.  The  remaining  pulp 
is  also  better  for  cattle  than  when  a  greater  proportion 
is  extracted. 

In  Germany,  where  wages  are  low,  the  pulp  is  more 
completely  exhausted,  and  the  manufacturer  is  not 
satisfied  unless  he  obtains,  in  sugar  and  molasses, 
within  from  one  half  to  one  per  cent,  of  all  the  existing 
saccharine  matter. 

A  crop  of  beets  was  raised  in  Illinois,  two  years 
ago  last  summer,  under  the  following  disadvantageous 
circumstances.  New  prairie  land  was  broken  up,  and 
the  seed  planted  on  the  upturned  sod  —  a  course  rarely 
pursued  by  good  farmers  anywhere  ;  the  beet  requiring 
for  its  proper  development  a  soil  previously  cultivated, 
in  which  the  sod  has  been  entirely  rotted.  The  sea 
son  was  extremely  dry,  and  the  yield  averaged  from 
ten  to  twelve  tons  only,  to  the  acre,  of  beets  contain 
ing  about  twelve  per  cent,  in  sugar.  The  total  cost. 


CULTIVATION   OF    THE    BEET.  29 

including  the  breaking  up  of  the  land,  harvesting,  and 
transportation,  was  three  dollars  and  forty  cents  per 
ton. 

In  France  the  average  yield  of  beets  is  from  fifteen 
to  eighteen  tons  per  acre,  frequently  rising  to  thirty, 
and  often  to  forty  tons,  while  in  one  instance  within 
my  knowledge,  nearly  sixty-two  tons  were  produced 
from  a  single  acre.  There  is  also  an  authentic  account 
of  a  crop  of  over  sixty-eight  tons  to  an  acre.  In  1865 
whole  districts  produced  thirty-two  tons  per  acre. 

The  cost  of  producing  an  acre  of  beets  in  Illinois, 
where  all  the  conditions  favor  cheap  cultivation,  would 
not  much  exceed  the  cost  of  a  crop  of  sorghum,  which  is 
estimated  as  low  as  thirty-five  dollars,  and  is  certainly 
not  more  than  forty-five  dollars  per  acre. 

According  to  Flint's  "  Agriculture  of  Massachu 
setts,"  F.  H.  Williams,  of  Sunderland,  cultivated  one 
hundred  and  eighty-four  rods,  or  an  acre  and  an  eighth, 
of  land  in  broom-corn,  at  a  cost  of  $38.32.  This,  in 
cluding  harvesting,  cleaning  the  seed,  and  also  eigh 
teen  dollars  for  manure,  makes  a  total  cost  per  acre 
of  less  that  $34. 

The  same  authority  states  that  Alonzo  P.  Good- 
ridge,  of  Worcester  North,  cultivated  a  crop  of  ruta 
bagas  at  a  cost  of  $70  per  acre,  including  $32  worth 
of  manure.  Yield,  43,880  pounds,  or  more  than  19^ 
tons,  to  an  acre.  Cost,  $3.59  per  ton. 

Mr.  Goodridge  also  raised  a  crop  of  sugar  beets  at 
the  same  cost,  and  with  the  same  amount  and  value  of 
manure.  Yield,  38,520  pounds,  or  about  17^  tons,  to 
an  acre.  Cost,  $4.05  per  ton. 

S.  D.  Smith,  of  West  Springfield,  raised  a  crop  of 


30  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

sugar  beets  at  a  cost,  of  $38  per  acre,  including  $i6for 
manure.  Yield,  38,070  pounds,  or  17  tons,  to  an  acre. 
Cost,  $2.23  per  ton. 

William  Birnie,  of  Springfield,  raised  a  crop  of 
mangel-wurzel,  in  1859,  on  2^  acres  of  land,  at  a  cost 
of  $82  per  acre,  including  $40  per  acre  for  manure. 
Yield  of  mangel-wurzel,  76,000  pounds,  or  nearly  34 
tons  per  acre.  There  were  also  harvested  on  the  same 
land  400  heads  of  cabbage,  besides  30  two-horse  loads 
of  beet-tops  for  milch  cows.  Cost  per  ton  of  beets, 
excluding  value  of  tops  or  of  cabbages,  $2.38. 

Mr.  Birnie  says,  "  I  estimate  that  the  improved  con 
dition  of  the  land,  after  the  crop  is  taken  off,  will  more 
than  balance  the  interest  on  its  cost  for  the  year." 

Dr.  Long,  of  Holyoke,  raised  a  crop  of  ruta  bagas, 
in  1860,  at  a  cost  of  $48  per  acre,  including  $12  for 
manure.  Yield,  43,608  pounds,  or  nearly  20  tons, 
per  acre.  Cost,  $2.40  per  ton. 

W.  G.  Wyman,  of  Worcester  North,  raised  a  crop 
of  ruta  bagas,  at  a  cost  of  $50  per  acre,  including  $36 
for  manure.  Yield,  49,600  pounds,  or  more  than  22 
tons,  per  acre.  Cost,  $2.27  per  ton. 

According  to  the  United  States  Agricultural  Report 
for  1864,  Thomas  Messinger,  of  Long  Island,  N.  Y., 
raised  a  crop  of  yellow  globe  mangel-wurzel  at  a 
cost  of  $57  per  acre,  including  rent  and  every  other 
expense.  Yield,  111,000  pounds,  or  more  than 
tons,  to  an  acre.  Cost,  $1.15  per  ton. 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET, 


Tabular  Statement  of  the  Crops  described. 


Name  of  cultivators. 

Crops. 

Yield 
per  ac., 
tons. 

Cost  of 
manure 
per  acre. 

Total 
cost  per 
acre. 

Cost 
per  ton. 

Alonzo  Flint, 
A.  P.  Goodridge, 
Dr.  Long, 
W.  G.  Wyman, 
Wm.  Birnie, 
Thos.  Messinger, 
A.  P.  Goodridge, 
S.  D.  Smith, 

Broom-corn, 
Ruta  baga, 
Ruta  baga, 
Ruta  baga, 
Mangel-wurzel, 
Mangel-wurzel, 
Sugar  beet, 
Sugar  beet, 

Average 

19£ 
20 
22 
34 
49i 

17* 

17 

$16 
32 
12 
36 
40 

32 
16 

$34 
70 
48 
50 
82 
57 
70 
38 

3.59 
2.40 
2.27 
2.38 
1.15 
4.05 
2.23 

2.72 

25.6 

26.28 

56.12 

The  average  yield  of  roots  to  an  acre  was  25T60- 
tons ;  the  cost  per  ton  was  $2.72  ;  the  value  of  manure 
applied  was  $26.28  ;  and  the  average  gross  cost  of 
cultivation  was  $56.12  per  acre. 

The  cost  of  cultivation,  exclusive  of  manure,  was 
$29.84  per  acre,  or  $1.16  per  ton  of  roots. 

The  usual  average  cost  of  cultivating  sorghum, 
broom-corn,  mangel-wurzel,  and  sugar  beets  is  about 
the  same. 

The  average  price  paid  for  beets  in  France,  in  1865, 
was  eighteen  francs,  say  three  dollars  and  fifty  cents 
per  ton  ;  but  at  the  close  of  the  season,  some  were 
bought  as  low  as  two  dollars  per  ton. 

The  average  price  for  the  last  twenty  years  has  been 
probably  about  three  dollars  and  twelve  cents  per  ton. 

An  acre  of  land  producing  twenty  tons  of  beets, 
sold  at  three  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  ton,  would 
yield  seventy  dollars,  —  and  with  a  yield  of  thirty  tons 
one  hundred  and  five  dollars  per  acre. 

What  other  crop  could  an  Illinois  farmer  cultivate 


32  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

that  would  yield  him  such  a  return  ?  The  following 
table  shows  that  the  principal  crops  raised  in  the  North 
ern  and  Western  States  do  not  yield  anything  like  such 
returns. 

TABLE 


Showing  the  Average  Yield  and  Cash  Value  of 
Corn,  Wheat,  Rye,  and  Oats,  on  one  acre  of  land, 
in  twenty-two  of  the  United  States,  for  four  years, 
from  1862  to  1865  inclusive,  according  to  the  Re 
port  of  the  Agricultural  Department  for  June, 
1866. 

Bushels.  Price  per  bushel.  Value  per  acre. 

Corn,    .  .  32.99  per  acre.  $  .86  $28.57 

Wheat,  .  14.34        "  J-57  22-44 

Rye,     .  .  15.94        "  1.03  15.98 

Oats,     .  .  28.56        "  .58  16.52 

Average  value  of  crops,  per  acre,  $20.87. 

The  introduction  of  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar 
in  the  West  would  give  to  the  farmer  a  market  for 
beets  at  his  own  door,  and  the  establishment  of  a  man 
ufacturing  population  in  his  vicinity  would  give  him 
a  home  market  for  the  other  productions  of  his  farm. 

In  France  the  manufacturer  contracts  with  the 
farmer  for  the  culture  of  a  certain  number  of  acres  in 
beets,  at  a  fixed  price  per  ton,  and  the  crop  is  always 
sold  in  advance  of  its  production. 

The  relative  cost,  in  the  department  of  the  Maine  et 
Loire,  of  raising  an  acre  of  beets,  and  an  acre  of  wheat, 
by  the  same  cultivator,  and  in  the  same  year,  is  shown 
by  tflfe  following  figures.  It  is  fair  to  remark,  however, 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET.  33 

that  labor  in  the  region  referred  to  is  somewhat  lower 
than  in  the  north  of  France,  where  the  beet  is  most 
extensively  cultivated. 

The  total  cost  of  cultivating  and  harvesting  the 
beets  on  580^5-  acres  of  land  was  as  follows  :  — 
Four  Ploughings,  $9.18  per  acre  .  .  $5,335-34 
Manures,  .  .  .  9.77  "  "  .  .  5,676.31 
Seeds,  .....  53  u  "  •  •  3IO46 
Sowing,  ....  1.84  "  "  .  .  1,078.35 
Cultivation,  .  .  .  3.56  "  "  .  .  2,069.10 
Harvesting,  ...  1.42  u  "  .  .  827.64 
Transportation,  .  1.18  "  "  .  .  690.09 
Sundries,  ...  .27  "  "  .  .  156.26 

Total,    .     .     .$27.75     »         »       .       $16,143.55 

The   total   cost  of    cultivating  and   harvesting  the 
wheat  on    11-      acres  of  land  was  as  follows  :  — 


Ploughings,      ....     $4.04  per  acre  $2,065.37 

Manures,     .....       7.46  "      "    .  3,817.68 

Seed-sowing,    ....       3.55  "      "    .  1,818.30 

Harrowing  and  rolling,        1.28  "       "    .  658.98 

Harvesting  and  threshing,    3.40  "      "     .  1,745.12 

Sundries,     ......  27  "      "     .  138.81 

Total,     ....  $20.00    "      "       $10,244.26 

From  the  above  figures  it  appears  that  the  cost  of 
cultivating  and  harvesting  an  acre  of  beets  was  $27.75, 
and  of  an  acre  of  wheat  $20.00.  Rent  of  land  is  not 
included  in  either  account.  The  cost,  then,  of  the  acre 
of  beets,  was  nearly  thirty-eight  per  cent,  more  tlian 
that  of  the  acre  of  wheat. 


* 


34  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

The  cost  of  preparing  and  planting  the  ground  in 
Illinois  with  a  crop  of  beets  would  not  exceed  that 
of  preparing  and  planting  it  with  corn,  for  it  would 
all  be  done  by  the  same  machinery  that  is  now  used. 
The  increase  of  cost  would  arise  from  the  greater 
amount  of  hand  labor  required  on  the  beets  to  keep 
them  entirely  free  from  weeds.  In  France  this  labor 
is  all  done  by  the  piece.  The  following  are  the  prices 
paid  for  each  •  operation  subsequent  to  planting  the 
seed  upon  the  above-described  field,  containing  580^ 
acres : — 

First  weeding, $1.18  per  acre. 

Second  weeding,     ....  1.03         " 

Third  weeding, 90         " 

Thinning  out,      ......         .23         " 

Pulling  the  beets,     ....  1.42         " 

Loading  into  wagon,    .     .     .         .03  per  ton. 

Putting  into  "  silos,"     ...         .04         " 

At  these  prices  the  workmen  make  from  thirty-eight 
to  forty-two  cents  per  day.  Much  of  the  work  is  done 
by  women  and  children. 

On  a  crop  of  twenty  tons  to  the  acre,  the  cost  of 
this  labor  would  amount  to  $6.16  per  acre.  It  is  cer 
tainly  safe  to  assume  that  the  same  work  would  not 
cost  over  twenty  dollars  per  acre  in  this  country  ;  for  I 
have  found  that  the  prices  of  labor  in  the  United 
States  are  certainly  not  more  than  three  times  those 
prevailing  in  France,  where  a  farm  hand  gets  from 
fifty  to  sixty  cents  per  day  in  gold. 

The  usually  estimated  cost  of  cultivating  beets  in 
France  is  from  four  hundred  and  fifty  to  six  hundred 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  BEET.  35 

francs  per  hectare,  which  is  from  thirty-five  to  forty- 
eight  dollars  per  acre.  This  includes  taxes,  and  also 
rent  of  land,  which  latter  varies  from  eight  to  twen 
ty-five  dollars  per  acre  per  annum  ;  and  manures,  which 
are  applied  at  a  cost  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  dollars  per  acre. 
Labor,  of  men,  horses,  and  oxen,  including  ploughing, 
harvesting,  and  transport  of  crop  to  the  manufactory, 
does  not  materially  exceed  fifteen  dollars  per  acre. 

I  submit  here  the  estimate  of  a  practical  French 
gentleman  upon  the  cost  of  labor  on  an  acre  of  beets. 

Ploughing, $5.54 

Weeding. 3.96 

Harvesting, 1.98 

Transport, 3.96 

Total, $15.44 

I  can  see  no  reason,  then,  why  the  western  farmer 
cannot  cultivate  an  acre  of  beets  at  a  cost  certainly 
not  exceeding  forty-five  to  fifty  dollars,  for  the  COST 
of  his  acre  of  land  will  not  average  TWICE  THE  AN 
NUAL  RENT  of  the  acre  in  France ;  and  unless  the 
present  system  of  cultivation  is  materially  changed,  he 
will  not  apply  fifteen  dollars  worth  of  manure  to  the 
acre,  as  they  do  in  France.  The  use  of  labor-saving 
machines  would  probably  enable  him  to  diminish  con 
siderably  the  amount  of  hand  labor  employed,  as  com 
pared  with  France.  Even  if  he  employ  the  same 
amount,  and  pay  three  times  the  prices  paid  by  the 
French,  not  only  for  his  laborers,  but  for  his  teams 
also,  his  work  will  not  cost  him  over  forty-five  dollars 
per  acre. 


36 


BEET-ROOT   SUGAR   AND 


Assuming  that  the  cost  of  cultivating  an  acre  of 
beets  would  be  even  as  high  as  sixty  dollars  per  acre, 
—  which  is  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  dollars  more  than 
the  cost  of  an  acre  of  sorghum,  —  that  the  crop  pro 
duced  would  be  as  great  as  that  of  a  fair  yield  in 
France,  or  say  twenty  tons,  then  at  four  dollars  per  ton 
the  crop  would  produce  eighty  dollars,  leaving  a  direct 
net  profit  of  twenty  dollars  per  acre  —  a  sum  nearly 
as  great  as  the  gross  receipts  average  at  present,  as 
shown  by  table  on  page  32. 

I  have  said  a  direct  net  profit  of  twenty  dollars  per 
acre,  because  it  has  been  found  in  Europe  that  there  is 
also  an  indirect  profit  on  the  beet  crop  in  the  large 
increase  of  crops  succeeding  it,  and  in  the  cattle  sup 
ported  upon  the  pulp  ;  experiments  having  conclusively 
proved  that  lands  now  yield  from  two  to  three  times 
as  much  grain,  and  support  from  eight  to  ten  times  as 
many  cattle,  in  the  beet-growing  districts  as  they  did 
before  the  beet  was  introduced.  The  great  beet-pro 
ducing  districts  of  France  are  the  grain  districts,  and 
cattle  districts  also.  The  three  branches  of  agriculture 
always  co-exist. 

David  Lee  Child  published,  in  1840,  a  book,  to 
which  further  reference  will  be  made  hereafter.  He 
cultivated  sugar  beets  in  Northampton,  in  this  state,  in 
1838-9.  He  stated,  as  the  result  of  his  observation  in 
France  in  1836,  that  "  the  crops  of  beets  in  that  country 
averaged  about  thirteen  tons  to  the  acre,"  *  and  that 
the  result  at  Northampton  was  about  the  same.  The 

*  Since  Mr.  Child's  visit,  cultivation  has  not  only  largely  in 
creased  the  production  per  acre,  but  it  has  considerably  improved 
the  saccharine  properties  of  the  beet. 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET.  37 

sugar  contained  in  the  French  beet  was  ten  to  ten 
and  one  half  per  cent.,  and  in  those  raised  at  North 
ampton  seven  and  one  half  to  nine  per  cent.  He 
attributed  "  the  inferiority  in  richness  to  the  inexpe 
rience  of  cultivators,  and  mainly  to  improper  manuring. 
The  probability  is,  that  with  equal  culture  our  beets 
will  surpass,  in  saccharine  richness,  those  of  France." 

Mr.  Child  estimated  the  cost  of  raising  a  crop  of 
beets  at  forty-two  dollars  per  acre.  He  "  had  seen  a 
great  number  of  estimates  based  on  more  or  less  prac 
tice  ;  and  the  great  agreement  which  we  find  among 
them  satisfies  us  that  the  general  result  may  be  relied 
upon.  They  are  all  very  near  forty  dollars  per  acre. 
The  lowest  is  thirty-five  dollars  and  the  highest  is  for 
ty-four  dollars." 

At  the  same  time  Mr.  Child  estimated  the  cost  of  cul 
tivating  an  acre  of  corn  at  thirty-one  dollars  and  fifty 
cents,  and  an  acre  of  broom  corn  at  forty-two  dollars. 
He  says  that  the  cost  of  cultivating  an  acre  of  beets 
and  that  of  an  acre  of  broom  corn  are  exactly  alike. 

This  corresponds  with  what  I  have  said  about  the 
sorghum,  the  cultivation  of  which  is  identical  with 
that  of  broom  corn.  He  says,  moreover,  in  reference 
to  the  corn  and  broom-corn  crops,  — 

"  But  neither  of  these  crops  is  an  enriching  or  a 
cleaning  crop :  the  beet  is  both,  exterminating  every 
noxious  plant,  and  leaving  good  stuff  on  the  ground, 
which  ploughed  in  is  equal  to  a  quarter  or  half  manur 
ing,  i.  e.,  to  five  or  ten  loads  of  manure  per  acre  and 
the  expense  of  carting  it." 

In  cane-sugar-producing  countries  the  number  of 
acres  "tended"  by  a  hand  varies  from  one  to  five, 


38  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

according  as  agricultural  machinery  is  more  or  less 
used.  The  cane  in  Louisiana  is  an  eight  or  nine 
months'  crop,  and  is  cut  before  maturity. 

In  the  West  Indies  it  is  in  cultivation,  before  cutting, 
for  a  period  of  from  eleven  to  fifteen  months.  The 
beet  grows  to  maturity  in  France  in  from  four  to  five 
months ;  in  the  United  States  in  from  three  to  four 
months.  In  France,  with  the  aid  of  a  horse,  one  hand 
will  easily  "tend"  five  acres  of  beets.  I  know  of 
instances  where  a  hand,  with  a  horse,  has  done  the 
whole  work  on  five  hectares,  or  twelve  acres,  of  beets. 

Mr.  Child,  in  1839,  estimated  that  the  whole  num 
ber  of  days'  labor  on  an  acre  of  beets  would  vary  from 
fifteen  to  nineteen. 

In  Illinois,  a  man,  with  a  pair  of  horses,  tends  easily 
fifty  acres  of  corn,  and  far  more  than  that  amount  has 
been  cultivated  by  one  hand.  I  claim,  therefore,  that 
with  the  improved  methods  of  cultivation  now  in  prac 
tice,  a  man  can  easily  cultivate  six  acres  of  beets  in 
four  months,  and  have  more  than  half  his  time  for 
other  labors.  The  cultivation  of  six  acres  of  cane 
would  occupy  a  man  exclusively  for  eight  months. 
The  labor,  then,  upon  the  acre  of  cane,  is,  at  least, 
twice  that  on  an  acre  of  beets. 

It  will  be  shown  that  the  product,  per  acre,  of  sugar 
from  beets,  is  greater  than  the  general  average  from 
cane. 

But  the  advantages  in  favor  of  beet  culture  do  not 
stop  here.  The  cane  crop  is  exhausting ;  it  is  a  bad 
forerunner  of  other  crops  ;  the  ground  on  which  it  is 
cultivated  must  lie  fallow  at  least  half  the  time ;  it 
feeds  and  fattens  no  sheep,  cattle,  nor  swine ;  conse- 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET.  39 

quently,  it  affords  little  material  for  enriching  the  soil. 
The  beet,  on  the  contrary,  is  an  enriching  and  cleaning 
crop.  It  requires  no  fallow  ;  it  is  the  very  best  known 
forerunner  of  other  crops  ;  it  feeds  multitudes  of  stock, 
and,  instead  of  impoverishing  the  soil,  constantly  im 
proves  it. 

In  fact,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  beet  crop  will 
be  found  to  be  as  profitable  to  the  farmer  here  as  it 
unquestionably  has  been  to  the  European  farmer. 
The  farmers  of  the  west  possess  many  great  advan 
tages  over  those  of  Europe. 

They  have  a  virgin  soil  prodigiously  productive, 
easily  cultivated,  and  of  low  cost,  and  agricultural 
machinery  with  which  one  man  will  do  the  work  of 
a  dozen.  Probably,  notwithstanding  the  high  price 
of  labor,  there  is  no  other  country  in  which  an  acre 
of  land  is  cultivated  so  cheaply  as  in  the  west. 

I  have  conversed  with  a  great  many  farmers  in  no 
less  than  twelve  of  the  Northern  and  Western  States, 
and  have  found  no  one  who  did  not  say  that  there 
would  be  no  difficulty  in  getting  all  the  beets  we  could 
consume  for  less  than  four  dollars  per  ton.  The  im 
pression  among  those  farmers  generally  was,  that  it 
would  cost  from  forty  to  fifty  dollars  an  acre  to  raise  a 
crop  of  beets  ;  some  placed  it  as  low  as  thirty-five,  and 
none  over  fifty  dollars.  If  these  estimates  should  prove 
to  be  correct,  the  cost  of  beets,  with  an  ordinary  yield, 
would  be  from  two  to  three  dollars  per  ton. 

If  it  be  true,  then,  that  beets  equally  rich  in  sugar 
can  be  raised  in  the  west  as  cheaply  as  in  Europe,  it 
only  remains  to  inquire  if  that  sugar  can  be  extracted 
at  a  profit. 


40  BEET-ROOT  SUGAR  AND 


COST  OF  BEET  SUGAR  IN  FRANCE. 

There  are  various  methods  of  making  sugar  from 
beets  employed  in  Europe,  of  which  the  following  are 
but  a  part :  — 

The  old  method  of  rasping,  pressing,  treating  with 
lime,  evaporating  in  open  boilers,  crystallizing  in  large 
moulds  or  in  pans,  draining,  and  crushing. 

This  method,  in  some  factories,  is  modified  by  the 
introduction  of  the  vacuum  pan.  In  others  the  cen 
trifugal  machine  takes  the  place  of  the  slower  method 
of  moulds  and  of  pans,  for  the  purpose  of  throwing 
off  the  molasses. 

In  other  establishments,  instead  of  using  hydraulic 
presses,  juice  is  extracted  from  the  pulp  in  centrifugal 
machines  in  which  large  quantities  of  water  are  used. 

In  others  the  "  process  of  diffusion,"  so  called,  by 
which  the  beets  are  cut  into  thin  slices,  and  the  sac 
charine  matter  exhausted  by  steeping  them  in  water 
in  a  series  of  vessels. 

In  others  the  process  of  "  maceration"  is  applied  to 
small  slices  of  beets,  called  "  cossettes,"  which  are 
dried  and  then  steeped  in  water  in  a  range  of  "  mace- 
rators." 

In  others  there  is  a  single  saturation  with  carbonic 
acid  gas  after  defecation. 

In  others  the  "  Maumene  process,"  or  the  system  of 
cold  defecation,  is  employed. 

In  others  the  sirup  of  the  beets  is  "strengthened" 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET.  41 

by  the  addition  of  sugar,  and  the  refined  loaf  is  pro 
duced  directly  from  the  beet. 

In  some  establishments  the  old-fashioned  "  scum 
press,"  worked  by  hand,  is  seen,  while  others  have 
"  hydraulic  scum  presses."  A  score  of  different  meth 
ods  are  employed  in  various  parts  of  Europe  for  the 
treatment  of  the  "  scum." 

In  my  judgment,  however,  incomparably  the  best 
process  is  the  system  of  "  double  carbonitation,"  so 
called,  of  Perier  and  Possoz. 

This  method  reduces  the  quantity  of  bone  black 
required  to  a  very  small  amount,  allowing  the  beets  to 
be  worked  later  in  the  spring,  producing  a  larger 
percentage  of  sugar,  of  better  quality  and  at  lower 
cost,  than  by  any  other  method. 

Taken  in  conjunction  with  the  "  hydraulic  press," 
"  Riedel's  filter  press,"  for  the  treatment  of  scums, 
the  "  carbonitation  trouble,"  and,  possibly,  the  "  Joly 
rasp,"  it  leaves  little  to  be  desired,  and  is  the  one  that 
I  heartily  recommend  for  adoption. 

In  France  the  expense  of  manufacturing  raw  sugar, 
including  the  cost  of  the  beets,  varies  from  three  to 
four  cents  per  pound. 

The  average  expenses  of  converting  1,000  tons  of 
beets  into  sugar  by  the  best  processes  are  about  as  fol 
lows,  not  including  taxes  or  interest  on  capital :  — 

1,000  tons  beets  (a)  $3.80, $3,800 

Coal,  1 20  tons,  (a)  $3.00, 360 

Bone-black  waste, 300 

Sacks  for  pulp,  250,  (a)  70  cts., ....  175 

Labor,  220  men  5  days  (a)  70  cts.,      .      .  770 


42  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

Administration  and  salaries,     ....  200 

Lighting, 50 

General  expenses,  insurance,     ....  250 

Lime,  metals,  rasp  blades,  repairs,  &c.,  845 

6>75° 
From  this  is  to  be  deducted,  say 

200  tons  pulp  (a,  $2.50,    ....     500 

30      "     molasses  fa)  $.22,    .     .     .     66o='i,i6o 

Leaving,  as  total  cost  of  working  1,000 

tons  beets, $5>59O 

The  cost  per  pound  of  sugar  produced  varies  in 
accordance  with  the  percentage  of  yield,  as  shown  in 
the  following  table  :  — 

Yield.  Sugar.  Cost  per  pound. 

6  per  cent.  134,440  Ibs.  4.15  cts. 

7  "  156.800   "  3.56   " 

8  "  179,200   "  3.10   " 


In  one  establishment  that  I  visited  in  France,  I  asked 
in  writing  of  the  proprietor,  to  whom  I  had  letters 
that  warranted  me  in  doing  so,  his  percentage  of  sugar 
and  molasses,  and  the  cost  of  manufacturing. 

This  gentleman  had  been  very  successful,  kept  his 
accounts  with  great  accuracy,  and,  as  he  manufactured 
by  the  old  process,  I  selected  him  as  a  good  represen 
tative  of  the  old  system,  and  asked  him  many  ques 
tions,  which  he  answered  with  great  courtesy  and  in 
the  fullest  and  most  satisfactory  manner.  His  yield 
of  juice  was  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  beets  worked ; 
his  percentage  of  sugar  was  6.85,  and  of  molasses 
2.75  per  cent,  of  the  juice. 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  43 

This  gives  a  result  of  5.48  per  cent,  of  sugar  and 
2.2  per  cent,  molasses  on  the  beets  worked,  which  was 
the  poorest  result  with  which  I  met. 

In  reply  to  my  question  as  to  the  expense  of  con 
verting  a  ton  of  beets  into  sugar,  I  shall  give  a  literal 
translation  of  his  reply,  stating  that  the  estimate  was 
made  from  the  business  of  nine  years,  in  which  time 
he  had  -made  improvements  and  enlargements  of  his 
mill,  all  of  which  were  charged  to  expenses :  — 

"  Hand  labor,  general  expenses,  ten  per  cent,  de 
preciation  of  machinery,  coal,  taxes,  in  one  word, 
every  expense,  even  those  for  enlargements  of  works 
and  improvements  of  machinery,  amount  to  13.75 
francs  the  1,000  kilogrammes  of  beets." 

This  is  about  $2.60  per  ton  of  beets  worked.  The 
average  price  paid  for  beets  in  the  above-described 
establishment  was  eighteen  francs  the  1,000  kilo 
grammes,  or  $3.42  per  ton,  making  the  total  cost  of 
a  ton  of  beets  and  its  conversion  into  sugar  $6.02. 
From  this  is  to  be  deducted  the  value  of  the  pulp  and 
molasses :  — 

Say,  for  1,000  tons  of  beets  (a) 

$3-42> $3>420 

Manufacturing    1,000   tons   of 

beets  fa)  $2.60, 2,600  =  $6,020 

Less,  200  tons  pulp  fa)  $2.50,    .     .     500 

22    "     molasses  fa)  $22,     .     484=       984 

$5,036 

Yield  of  sugar  at  5.48  per  cent.,  54.8  tons,  or  122,752 
pounds,  leaving  the  net  cost  of  a  pound  of  sugar 
cents. 


44  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

The  expense  for  labor  at  3^-  francs,  or  sixty-six  cents, 
per  day  (the  average)  was  ninety-two  cents  per  ton 
of  beets  worked,  being  thirty-five  per  cent,  of  the  cost 
of  converting  a  ton  of  beets  into  sugar,  and  15.2  per 
cent,  of  the  total  cost,  including  the  price  paid  for  the 
beets.  This,  if  charged  entirely  to  sugar,  would  make 
the  cost  of  labor  in  a  pound  of  sugar  six  mills. 

Inquiry  has  satisfied  me  that  the  expense  of  manu 
facturing  1,000  kilogrammes,  or  2,200  pounds,  of  beets 
into  sugar  in  France,  including  in  the  expenses  taxes, 
interest  on  capital,  and  depreciation  of  machinery, 
averages  from  eighteen  to  twenty  francs,  or  $3.47  to 
$3.87  per  ton  of  beets.  In  some  cases  it  is  as  low  as 
fifteen  francs,  or  $2.88,  per  ton,  and  in  others  as  high 
as  twenty-two  francs,  or  $4.25,  per  ton.  In  the  case 
quoted  above  it  was  13.75  francs,  or  $2.60,  per  ton. 

The  expense  for  labor  in  the  best  establishments  is, 
as  a  rule,  about  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of 
manufacturing. 

From  these  figures,  which  I  know  to  be  reliable, 
the  cost  of  a  pound  of  sugar  and  the  proportion  due 
to  labor  are  shown  in  the  following  table  ;  labor  being 
reckoned  at  sixty-six  cents  per  day  and  the  cost  of 
beets  at  $3.80  per  ton  ;  yield  of  molasses  at  two  and 
one  half  per  cent.,  price  $22  per  ton ;  pulp  twenty 
per  cent.,  price  $2.50  per  ton. 


CULTIVATION    OF    TJIE    BEET. 


45 


Cost  of  Labor  and  Total  Cost  per  Pound  of  con 
verting  Beets  into  Sugar. 


Manufacturing- 
cost  per  ton 
of  beet. 

Yield. 

Cost  of  labor  per 
pound. 

Total  cost  per 
pound. 

$2.88 

(  6  per  cent. 

<7 

5T3o-  mills. 

4TV  cents. 
3r6o-     " 

(8 

4         " 

SrV      " 

(6        " 

4f^     " 

347 

7        " 
(8 

4*     " 

SA   ;; 

3-87 

(6        " 

{7 
18 

5i4    " 

4*     " 

3*     " 

4-25 

(6        " 
7       " 

/  TtT 
T(T 

4A     " 

18 

JT7 

I  know  of  an  establishment  in  France  where  the 
total  cost  of  producing  sugar,  exclusive  of  interest  on 
capital,  is  but  thirty-six  francs  per  1,000  kilogrammes 
of  beets,  or  3T1U-  cents  per  pound  of  sugar. 

The  yield  of  sugar  is  about  eight  per  cent.,  of  which 
four  and  one  half  per  cent,  is  of  a  quality  fit  for  direct 
consumption,  and  would  bring  fifteen  cents  per  pound 
here  to-day.  Two  and  one  half  per  cent,  is  of  a  grade 
better  than  No.  14,  and  one  per  cent,  is  equal  to  No. 
12.  In  another  about  the-  same  amount  and  quality 
is  produced  at  a  cost  of  3/0  cents  per  pound. 

I  know  of  another  establishment  where  the  total 
cost,  including  every  expense,  interest  on  capital  at 
five  per  cent.,  and  depreciation  of  machinery  at.  ten 
per  cent.,  was  in  1865-6  but  the  fraction  of  a  mill 
over  four  cents  per  pound. 


46  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

The  amount  of  sugar  produced  was  seven  and  one 
half  per  cent.  ;  but  the  quality  was  not  so  good  as  in 
the  previously  described  cases,  although  the  first 
quality,  which  amounted  to  four  per  cent,  of  the  beets 
worked,  sold  readily  at  seventy-five  francs  the  hun 
dred  kilogrammes,  or  six  and  one  half  cents  per 
pound. 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET.  47 


PROFITS   ON  BEET  SUGAR. 

It  is  believed  that  the  only  material  item  of  expense 
in  the  manufacture  of  sugar  that  would  be  greater  in 
the  United  States  than  in  France  is  the  single  one  of 
labor.  All  others  in  excess  of  those  of  France  are 
here  more  than  offset  by  the  lower  cost  of  coal,  of 
land,  and  of  taxation. 

In  relation  to  labor  it  is  well  known  that  in  the 
United  States  the  use  of  labor-saving  machines  is 
greater  than  in  any  other  country,  because  the  high 
price  of  labor  has  stimulated  their  invention.  It  is  a 
fact  that  the  number  of  hands  employed  in  sugar  re 
fineries  in  this  country  is  much  smaller  than  in  Euro 
pean  establishments  of  the  same  capacity  of  production, 
and  it  would  doubtless  be  possible  to  effect  some  saving 
in  that  direction  as  compared  with  France  in  an  Amer 
ican  sugar  manufactory. 

The  labor  in  a  beet-sugar  factory  in  this  country 
would  certainly  not  require  a  greater  number  of  men 
than  is  required  in  a  similar  establishment  in  France. 
But,  assuming  that  the  same  number  would  be  neces 
sary,  it  is  proper  to  ascertain  the  exact  relation  that 
the  price  of  labor  bears  to  the  cost  of  production. 

In  Europe  the  number  of  skilled  hands  required  in 
a  sugar  manufactory  is  very  small,  the  great  propor 
tion  of  workmen  being  common  farm  laborers,  who 
work  in  the  fields  in  summer  and  in  the  mills  in 
winter.  The  making  of  beet  sugar  is  only  carried  on 
in  the  fall  and  winter  months,  say  from  October  to 


48  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

February.  With  us,  by  reason  of  a  more  favorable 
climate,  not  only  for  the  earlier  development,  but  also 
for  the  better  preservation  of  the  beet,  it  could  be  ex 
tended  from  September  to  March,  or  even  later.  It 
will  be  acknowledged  that  these  are  the  months  in 
which  labor  in  this  country  can  be  most  readily  and 
reasonably  procured.  The  probability  is,  inasmuch 
as  the  establishment  of  this  industry  in  Illinois  would 
permit  the  hiring  of  men  by  the  year,  that  the  price 
of  labor  per  day  would  average  considerably  less  than 
it  does  at  present  in  the  summer  time,  which,  in  the 
region  I  have  selected,  is  about  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  per  day  for  a  first-rate  hand. 

One  of  the  first  merchants  and  manufacturers  of 
France  told  me,  that  with  wages  at  three  and  a  half 
francs  per  day,  the  value  of  labor  in  a  hundred  kilo 
grammes  of  sugar  should  not  exceed  four  to  four  and 
a  half  francs.  That  is,  with  wages  at  sixty-six  cents 
per  day,  the  cost  of  labor  should  be  less  than  four 
mills  per  pound. 

By  the  preceding  tables  the  cost  of  labor  at  sixty- 
six  cents  per  day  varies  in  a  pound  of  sugar  from  four 
to  seven  and  one  tenth  mills  in  France.  The  average 
is  not  far  from  5^  mills  per  pound. 

If  the  same  amount  of  labor  be  required  here  as  the 
average  of  France,  and  its  value  be  three  times  greater, 
or  two  dollars  per  day,  then  the  average  cost  of  a 
pound  of  sugar  from  beets  yielding  seven  per  cent., 
will  be  five  and  one  fourth,  instead  of  four  cents,  per 
pound. 

I  herewith  present  a  table  showing  the  results  that 
I  have  no  doubt  can  be  attained  in  Illinois  by  a  com- 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  49 

pany  with  $300,000  capital,  of  which  $200,000  shall 
be  appropriated  for  buildings  and  machinery,  and 
$100,000  reserved  for  working  capital. 

EXPENSES. 

24,000  tons  of  beets,  ...  ^5)  $4.00  .  .  .  $96,000 
Labor,  225  men,  150  days,  (a)  $1.75  per  day,  50,625 

Salaries, 10,000 

Coal,  3,000  tons,  .     .     .    '.  fa)  $1.50,    .     .     .  4,500 

Sacks  for  pulp,  8,000      .     .  (a)  $1.00,    .     .     .  8,000 

Bone-black  waste, 7?5°° 

Insurance, 2,000 

Lighting, 750 

Lime,  metals,  barrels,  rasp  blades,  repairs,  &c.  15,125 

$194,500 
RECEIPTS. 

i, 680  tons  sugar  (yield  calculated  at  7%),  at 

$200  per  ton,  or  8^  cents  per  pound,  .  $336,000 

720  tons  molasses  (yield  calculated  at  3%), 

at  $10.00  per  ton,  or  4  cents  per  gallon,  7,200 

4,800  tons  of  pulp,  at  $2.00  per  ton  (equiva 
lent  to  hay  fa)  $6.00  per  ton),  ....  9,600 

$352,800 
Less  expenses, 194,500 

Profit  equal  to  52%  on  capital,  ....  $158,300 
From  which  is  to  be  deducted  for  local 

taxes  and  internal  revenue,       ....        10,000 

Net  profit,  being  nearly  50%  on  capital,       .  $148,300 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  yield  of  sugar  is  placed  at 
3 


50  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

seven  per  cent.  I  have  no  doubt  it  would  be  more, 
for  by  the  method  recommended,  and  which  is  in  use 
in  France,  the  yield  is  eight  per  cent.  The  price  of 
sugar  is  also  calculated  at  8^  cents  per  pound,  but 
samples  made  by  the  process  referred  to  are  declared 
to  be  now  worth  an  average  of  thirteen  cents. 

The  value  of  the  molasses  T  have  placed  at  four 
cents  per  gallon,  but  it  will  produce  twenty-five  per 
cent,  of  its  weight  in  90°  alcohol,  and  the  market 
value  of  a  material  that  will  give  that  result  is  cer 
tainly  not  less  than  twenty-five  cents  per  gallon.* 

I  have  placed  the  market  value  of  the  pulp  at  two 
dollars  per  ton,  at  which  price  it  has  been  ascertained, 
by  years  of  experiment,  to  be  equivalent  to  hay  at  six 
dollars  per  ton ;  therefore  it  cannot  be  said  that  the 
estimate  is  too  high. 

On  the  other  hand,  beets  are  charged  at  four  dollars 
per  ton,  upon  which  there  is  little  doubt  a  saving  of 
fifty  cents  per  ton,  or  twelve  thousand  dollars,  could  be 
effected.  On  pages  26  to  39  the  probable  cost  of  beets 
is  discussed.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  actual 
cost  to  the  farmer  will  rarely  exceed  three  dollars  per 
ton,  even  with  small  crops,  while  with  twenty  or  thirty 
tons  per  acre,  the  larger  of  which  is  by  no  means  an 
uncommon  yield,  the  cost  would  be  from  one  dollar 
and  a  half  to  two  dollars  a  ton.  Manufacturers  could 

*  The  molasses  contains  from  forty-five  to  fifty-five  per  cent,  of 
crystallizable  sugar.  Until  recently  no  economical  method  for  its 
extraction  was  known.  Last  year,  however,  three  or  four  estab 
lishments  were  erected  in  Europe  for  that  purpose,  and  I  have 
been  assured  that  nearly  all  the  sugar  can  be  extracted  at  a  cost 
of  time  and  a  half  cents  per  pound. 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  51 

certainly  raise  their  own  beets  at  three  dollars  per  ton, 
and  probably  at  considerably  less. 

In  fact,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  estimated  ex 
penses  are  placed  sufficiently  high,  being  at  the  rate 
of  4T9(j  cents  per  pound  of  sugar,  or  iT8<y  cents  higher 
than  in  the  French  manufactory,  which  it  is  proposed 
to  copy  ;  while  excluding  the  item  of  labor,  the  balance 
of  expenses  would  be  less  here  than  in  France.  The 
actual  expenses  for  labor  in  the  French  manufactory 
are  less  than  one  half  a  cent  per  pound,  and  IT8^ 
cents  per  pound  has  been  allowed  as  the  excess  of  cost 
here  over  that  in  France. 

I  present  below  a  table  showing  the  estimated 
result,  with  the  yield  of  sugar  as  great  as  in  the  French 
establishment,  namely,  eight  per  cent.,  provided  it 
were  sold  at  its  present  market  value,  say  twelve  and 
a  half  cents  per  pound,  and  the  molasses  at  twenty-five 
dollars  per  ton,  or  ten  cents  per  gallon,  which  is  less 
than  half  its  actual  value  for  distillation. 

1,920  tons  of  sugar  at  12^  cents  per  pound,    $537,600 

720     "     "   molasses  at  $25  per  ton,    .     .         18,000 

4,800     "     "   pulp  at  $2  "      "       .     .  9,600 

$565,200 
Less  expenses, 194,500 

Profit  (equal  to  123  per  cent  on  capital),  .  $370,700 
Or,  deducting  taxes  and  internal  revenue,  .  16,000 

118  percent, $354,700 

By  the  poorest  methods  prevailing  in  Europe  six 


52  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

per  cent,  of  sugar  is  obtained.  By  the  best  processes 
nine  per  cent,  of  sugar  and  two  and  a  half  per  cent  of 
molasses  can  be  and  repeatedly  have  been  extracted 
from  beets  containing  twelve  and  a  half  per  cent,  of 
saccharine  matter,  which  is  the  amount  in  the  beets 
raised  in  Illinois  on  the  first  experiment.  I  submit, 
therefore,  the  accompanying  table  as  an  indication,  on 
the  one  hand,  of  a  result  that  is  possible  to  be  re 
alized,  and  also,  on  the  other,  of  a  result  that  in  the 
present  state  of  the  art  is  certain  to  be  at  least 
equalled. 

In  this  table  sugar  is  credited  at  ten  cents  a  pound, 
molasses  at  ten  cents  per  gallon,  and  pulp  at  two  dol 
lars  per  ton.  Expenses  are  reckoned  as  in  the  pre 
ceding  table  on  page  49. 

TABLE 

Showing  the  Products  of  Sugar  from  24,000  Tons  of 
Beets,  yielding  Six,  Seven,  Eight,  and  Nine  per 
cent.,  with  the  Amount  and  Percentage  of  Projit 
on  a  Capital  of  $300,000.  Taxes  and  Internal 
Revenue  not  deducted. 

Profit  per  cent. 

68* 


Yield  per  cent. 

Yieldofltons. 
sugar.    \ 

Profit,  dollars. 

6 

1,440 

$152,660 

7 

1,  680 

206,420 

8 

1,920 

260,180 

9 

2,160 

313,940 

On  pages  40  to  48  I  have  discussed  fully  the  proba 
ble  cost  of  manufacturing  beet-root  sugar,  and  have 
arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  under  no  circumstances, 
with  a  yield  of  seven  per  cent,  of  sugar,  can  the  cost 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  53 

exceed  5|  cents  per  pound.  My  belief  is  that  it  would 
be  less,  say  4f  cents  at  the  outside.  But  if  it  cost  5^ 
cents,  and  sold  at  ten,  there  would  still  be  a  profit  of 
ninety  per  cent. 

After  making  all  allowance  for  contingencies  that 
I  can  imagine  as  possible  to  arise,  I  have  not  the 
slightest  doubt  that  there  can  be  realized  on  the  manu 
facture  a  profit  of  at  least  eighty  per  cent,  on  the 
capital  invested. 

In  a  conversation  with  a  French  gentleman,  a  man 
ufacturer  of  sugar  machinery  for  all  parts  of  the  world, 
and  who  is  also  largely  interested  (and  with  most 
favorable  results)  in  the  manufacture  not  only  of  cane 
sugar  in  Martinique,  but  also  of  beet  sugar  in  France, 
in  Germany,  in  Poland,  and  in  Russia,  he  gave  it  as 
his  opinion,  that  the  beet  was  destined  to  become  the 
great  sugar-producing  vegetable  of  the  world,  for  the 
reason  that  it  can  be  cultivated  in  the  temperate  lati 
tudes,  in  countries  of  dense  population,  and  conse 
quently  in  close  proximity  to  the  consumers  of  sugar. 
In  his  judgment  sugar  can  be  produced  from  it  as 
cheaply  in  Europe  or  in  the  United  States  as  it  can  be 
from  cane  in  the  West  Indies  or  Brazil.  And  even  if 
that  position  were  not  tenable,  the  expenses  of  trans 
portation  are  so  great  as  to  render  it  absolutely  certain 
that  sugar  produced  from  the  cane  cannot  compete 
with  beet  sugars  in  the  markets  of  Europe  or  the 
United  States. 

The  "Journal  des  Fabricants  de  Sucre "  says,  that 
"the  season  of  1865-6  developed  the  success  of  two 
highly  important  processes,  namely,  the  immediate 
carbonitation  without  defecation  of  the  juice  as  it 


54  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

came  from  the  presses,  and  the  perfection  of  the 
operation  of  the  improved  filter  presses.  In  the 
factories,  where  these  new  methods  were  employed, 
their  superiority  was  marked  in  comparison  with  the 
old  system,  by  which,  late  in  the  season,  it  was  almost, 
and  oftentimes  quite,  impossible  to  make  good  sugar. 
Beets  that  could  not  be  successfully  worked  by  the  old 
process  were  brought  to  the  new  establishments, 
where  sugar  of  beautiful  quality,  fit  for  direct  con 
sumption,  was  readily  produced.  And  what  was  still 
more  remarkable,  in  as  great  proportions  upon  the 
amount  of  beets  worked  as  in  the  beginning  of  the 
season." 

The  entire  success  of  these  processes,  which,  seeing 
in  operation,  I  have  recommended  the  adoption  of, 
has  created  the  greatest  excitement  among  the  manu 
facturers  in  France.  The  opinion  is  there  entertained 
that  their  employment  will  not  only  increase  the  aver 
age  yield  of  sugar  at  least  one  per  cent,  on  a  hundred 
pounds,  but  also  improve  the  quality  of  the  sugar 
several  numbers. 

The  remarkable  results  produced  by  these  improve 
ments  have  attracted  the  attention  of  Englishmen  ;  and 
the  probability  is,  that  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar 
will  yet  be  established  in  Great  Britain,  the  country 
that  not  only  tried  to  strangle  the  industry  at  its  birth, 
but  also,  when  it  had  been  successfully  established  on 
her  own  soil,  gave  notice  to  the  manufacturers,  through 
its  government,  that  an  excise  of  five  cents  per  pound 
would  be  placed  upon  their  production,  upon  the 
ground  that  it  would  interfere  with  the  prosperity  of 
their  West  India  possessions  ! 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET  55 


PRODUCTION   OF  SUGAR  IN  VARIOUS 
COUNTRIES. 

RAMON  DE  LA  SAGRA,  in  his  work  "  Cuba  en  1860," 
states  that  the  average  production  of  sugar  per  acre 
from  the  cane  in  that  island  was  .     .       1,709  Ibs. 
The  highest,        ......       7,980    " 

"    lowest,    .......       I?257    " 

Martinique  average,      ....       15587    " 

"  highest,       ....       1,900    u 

Porto  Rico  average,     ....       3,950    " 

Reunion  lowest,       .....       1,100    " 

"         highest,     .....       95625    " 


average, 3  5  200    u 

Mauritius, 8,562    " 

Java, 4,166    " 

I  will  add  that  the  product  in 
Louisiana  before  the  war  was 

about 1,100    " 

In  Germany,  the    average  pro 
duction  from  beets  is  about    .  2,100    a 
In  France,  average,      ....  2,200    " 
"         "        highest,      ....  5,000 


" 


It  will  thus  be  seen  that  an  acre  of  land  produces 
from  beets  a  larger  average  amount  ofsugar  in  France 
and  Germany  than  is  produced  from  cane  in  Cuba, 
Martinique,  or  Louisiana.  In  Mauritius  the  system 
of  cultivation  is  good,  but  it  is  a  matter  of  notoriety 
that  the  sugar  of  Mauritius  cannot  compete  with  beet 


56  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

sugar  in  France,  notwithstanding  it  has  an  advantage 
over  the  latter  in  the  French  ports  of  five  francs  the 
hundred  kilogrammes,  or  4.3  mills  per  pound. 

M.  De  la  Sagra  gives  the  following  figures,  show 
ing  the  amount  of  sugar  produced  to  a  "  hand  "  upon 
several  of  the  best  plantations  in  Cuba  :  — 

La  Ponina,    .  4,238  Ibs.  Flor  de  Cuba,  6,430  Ibs. 

Conchita,       .  4,413    "  Delta,       .     .    7,062    " 

St.  Martin,     .  4,512    "  Las  Canas,  .13,327    " 

On  some  well-ordered  estates,  both  in  France  and 
in  Germany,  the  production  of  sugar  to  a  "  hand"  ex 
ceeds  14,000  pounds. 

The  production  of  sugar  at  Martinique  in  1832  was 
30,000  tons.  In  1850,  in  consequence  of  emancipa 
tion,  it  fell  to  15,000  tons.  In  1864,  the  production 
again  reached  30,000  tons.  Emancipation  produced 
a  similar  result  in  Guadaloupe.  In  Reunion,  by  rea 
son  of  immense  importations  of  Coolie  labor,  produc 
tion  has  increased  fourfold  since  emancipation  ;  but 
intelligent  observers  see  that  Coolie  labor  is  but  another 
form  of  slavery,  for  which  reason  the  supply  must 
cease.  It  does  not,  like  slavery,  reproduce  laborers, 
for  ninety  to  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the  Coolies  are 
males.  The  increased  production  is  also  due  to  an 
extended  area  of  cultivation,  and  not,  as  in  Mauri 
tius,  to  improved  methods  of  culture.  In  fact,  some 
of  the  most  intelligent  planters  in  several  of  the  French 
colonies  have  abandoned  sugar  cane,  and  cultivate 
other  crops. 


CULTIVATION   OF   THE    BEET.  57 


ATTEMPTS    TO  MANUFACTURE    BEET 
SUGAR  IN  THE  UNITED   STATES. 

SEVERAL  attempts  on  a  very  small  scale  have  been 
made,  within  the  last  thirty  years,  to  manufacture  beet 
sugar  in  this  country  ;  but  with  one  exception,  so  far 
as  I  can  learn,  they  were  made  when  the  industry  was 
in  its  infancy,  and  when  prices  were  much  lower  than 
they  are  at  present,  or  are  now  likely  to  be. 

Those  attempts  were  not  crowned  with  commercial 
success ;  but  the  results  produced  were  such  as  to 
demonstrate,  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt,  that  beet 
sugar  can  now  be  made  in  this  country  with  the  most 
absolute  certainty  of  success. 

The  attempt,  of  which  there  is  now  to  be  obtained 
the  most  complete  published  account,*  was  made  at 
Northampton,  in  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut,  in  the 
years  1838-9,  by  David  Lee  Child,  and  the  "North 
ampton  Beet-sugar  Company."  The  company  were 
the  successors  of  David  Lee  Child,  to  whom  the  Massa 
chusetts  Charitable  Mechanic  Association,  at  their  sec 
ond  exhibition,  in  1839,  awarded  a  silver  medal. 

In  their  report  the  Association  say,  "  The  crude 
or  raw  sugar  is  well  made,  dry,  and  of  good  grain. 
The  refined  shows  that  this  article  can  be  made  of  as 
good  quality  as  sugar  from  the  cane." 

On  the  5th  of  December,  1839,  tne  "  Massachusetts 


*  The  Culture  of  the  Beet,  and  Manufacture  of  Beet  Sugar,  by 
David  Lee  Child,  1840. 


58  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

Agricultural  Society"  awarded  a  premium  of  one 
hundred  dollars  to  the  "  Northampton  Beet-sugar 
Company,  for  beet  sugar." 

On  the  i3th  of  November,  1839,  Hon.  Levi  Lincoln, 
president  of  the  "  Worcester  County  Agricultural  So 
ciety,"  addressed  a  letter  to  Mr.  Child,  who  had  sent 
him  a  box  of  sugar  for  exhibition.  The  box  arrived 
too  late  ;  but  the  following  extract  from  Mr.  Lincoln's 
letter  indicates  the  quality  of  the  sugar :  "  Availing 
of  your  kind  permission,  samples  of  the  sugar  were 
submitted  to  the  inspection  of  severaj  gentlemen. 
The  brown  sugar  was  found  to  be  pure,  very  sweet, 
and  entirely  free  from  any  bad  taste,  and  its  quality,  in 
every  respect,  was  highly  satisfactory. 

"  The  refined  or  lump  sugar  seemed  not  so  well  gran 
ulated  as  is  desirable.  Still  we  are  well  satisfied  that, 
as  an  experiment  in  the  manufacture,  it  is  highly  en 
couraging,  and  we  all  felt  that  the  country  was  largely 
indebted  to  your  intelligence  and  enterprise  in  demon 
strating,  beyond  all  question,  how  entirely  this  appli 
cation  of  domestic  industry  is  at  her  command." 

In  May,  1839,  Mr.  Child  received  a  letter  from 
Martial  Duroy,  of  Boston,  confectioner,  from  which 
the  following  is  an  extract :  — 

"  Having,  while  in  France,  heard  the  confectioners 
in  general  deprecate  the  use  of  beet  sugar  in  their 
work,  I  was  naturally  a  little  prejudiced  against  it 
when  I  was  called  upon  by  you  to  make  some  confec 
tionery  for  the  '  Ladies'  Anti-slavery  Fair.'  I  was 
pleased  to  find,  upon  trial,  that  your  raw  sugar  was 
extremely  easy  to  clarify,  and  that  it  grained  freely. 
These  attributes  of  good  and  pure  sugar  reconciled 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  59 

me  at  once  with  it,  and  I  made  a  variety  of  confection 
ery  as  easily  and  as  handsome  as  with  the  best  Ha 
vana.  But  its  power  of  crystallization  is  particularly 
interesting,  as  it  is  upon  this  that  depends  its  successful 
transformation  into  loaf  sugar  ;  and  as  far  as  a  pretty 
considerable  experience  goes  to  establish  it,  I  think 
beet  sugar  obtained  by  your  process  does  crystallize, 
both  easily  and  abundantly,  forming  at  will  coarse  or 
fine  grains,  peculiarly  brilliant,  and  giving,  by  far,  a 
smaller  quantity  of  molasses  in  the  process  of  refining 
than  cane  sugar  of  a  corresponding  quality.  I  found 
also  the  molasses  of  a  pleasant  taste,  and  well  adapted 
in  its  chemical  composition  to  culinary  purposes." 

Mr.  Child  says  that  the  best  result  he  obtained  from 
one  hundred  pounds  of  beets  was  seven  pounds  of 
sugar  and  three  and  one  third  of  molasses  ;  that 
"  the  sugar  was  of  excellent  quality,  free,  even  in  its 
raw  state,  from  any  bad  taste,  and  of  a  pure  and  spar 
kling  white  when  refined.  Old  and  extensive  dealers 
have  pronounced  it  in  both  states  capable  of  success 
ful  competition  with  any  sugars  in  the  market." 

The  quantity  made  was  about  1300  pounds. 

Mr.  Child  satisfied  himself,  from  the  result  of  the 
labors  of  1838-9,  that  "  the  raw  sugar  can  be  ob 
tained  without  any  bad  taste,  and  fit  for  immediate 
consumption  ;  that  American  beets,  though  gener 
ally  inferior  to  the  European  in  saccharine  richness, 
can,  by  suitable  culture,  be  made  inferior  to  none." 

He  says,  "  The  sugar  grained  in  a  few  hours ; 
drained  well  and  is  not  inferior  in  flavor  or  appear 
ance  to  the  finest  West  Indies  Muscovadoes.  The 
quality  of  the  molasses  has  been  a  matter  of  utter  sur- 


60  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

prise  to  us.  In  France  the  molasses  is  considered  of 
no  value  except  for  feeding  to  animals  or  for  distilling, 
and  it  sells  for  four  or  five  cents  per  gallon.  The 
molasses  from  the  sugar  in  question  is  of  a  bright 
amber  color,  and  so  pure  and  pleasant  as  to  be  pre 
ferred  by  many  to  any  but  sugar  bakers'."  He  says, 
"  It  will  be  readily  conceived  that  a  small  establish 
ment,  dependent  upon  farmers  for  material,  paying  for 
it  twice  the  cost  of  its  production,  and  executing  by 
hand  several  heavy  and  tedious  operations,  which 
ought  to  be  performed  by  steam,  water,  or  horse 
power,  cannot  furnish  accurate  data  for  determining 
the  expense  of  making  beet  sugar.  The  actual  cost 
when  the  material  was  good  has  been  eleven  cents 
per  pound,  the  pulp  and  manure  not  taken  into  ac 
count.  We  are  of  opinion  that,  with  proper  and  suf 
ficient  means,  beet  sugar  may  be  manufactured  in  the 
United  States  at  four  cents  per  pound.  When  the 
manufacture  shall  have  become  domesticated  among 
us,  it  will  probably  be  produced  at  a  cost  less  than 
that." 

In  relation  to  the  effect  of  a  beet  crop  on  succeed 
ing  crops,  Mr.  Child  says,  "  In  Northampton  wheat 
has  succeeded  beets  the  present  season  with  rather 
striking  success.  A  farmer  let  a  field  abutting  on 
Connecticut  River  on  shares.  On  a  part  of  it  he 
raised  beets  last  year,  and  on  the  other  Indian  corn. 
The  whole  was  equally  manured.  The  corn  yielded 
seventy-five  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  the  beets  were 
tolerably  weeded.  The  wheat  was  harvested,  and  his 
share  delivered  in  the  barn  without  any  attention  to 
it  on  his  part.  In  due  time  a  laborer  was  employed 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  6 1 

to  thrash  it.  This  person,  after  thrashing  a  quantity, 
observed  to  his  employer  that  the  wheat  on  one  side 
of  the  loft  thrashed  easier,  and  had  a  better  berry  and 
brighter  straw,  than  on  the  other.  Upon  examination 
it  was  found  that  the  former  had  been  produced  upon 
the  beet,  and  the  latter  upon  the  corn,  section  of  the 
field,  but  with  this  difference,  that  the  beet  grew  near 
est  to  the  river,  where  it  is  considered  that  wheat  is 
most  likely  to  blast.  We  had  the  advantage  of  exam 
ining  these  wheats,  and  the  difference  was  clearly  such 
as  the  thrasher  had  stated.  The  proprietor  found  a 
difference  of  three  and  a  half  pounds  per  bushel  in 
the  weight.  We  presume  that  the  difference  in  the 
flour  would  be  found  much  greater,  because,  the  grains 
of  the  inferior  wheat  being  smaller,  it  would  require 
more  of  them  to  fill  a  measure ;  and  as  the  shrunk 
grains  have  the  same  quantity  of  skin  as  the  large, 
and  as  it  is  the  skins  which  make  bran,  it  follows 
that  the  superiority  remarked  would  appear  still 
more  signally  if  the  two  samples  were  ground  and 
bolted." 

Mr.  Child,  in  a  note,  remarks,  "  Mr.  Harrison  O. 
Apthorp,  of  Northampton,  —  one  of  the  earliest  culti 
vators  of  the  sugar  beet  in  this  country,  —  has  informed 
us  of  the  remarkable  growth  of  herdsgrass  as  a  succes 
sor  of  sugar  beets  on  his  grounds.  The  crop  was  pro 
nounced  by  the  oldest  farmers  in  Northampton  village 
superior  to  any  of  the  kind  they  had  ever  seen  in  the 
meadows." 

Several  years  ago,  beet  sugar,  of  very  fine  quality, 
was  made  by  the  society  of  Shakers  at  Enfield,  but 
upon  too  small  a  scale,  and  by  too  crude  a  method,  to 


62  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

ascertain  fairly  the  price  at  which  it  could  be  pro 
duced. 

In  1863-4  *he  brothers  Gennert,  of  New  York,  con 
ceived  the  idea  of  manufacturing  beet  sugar.  Mr. 
Thomas  Gennert  visited  Europe  for  the  purpose  of 
studying  the  methods  there  employed.  Upon  his 
return,  the  firm  selected  the  prairie  lands  in  the  town 
of  Chatsworth,  Livingston  County,  Illinois,  pur 
chased  2300  acres,  erected  buildings,  and  commenced 
the  cultivation  of  beets.  In  process  of  time  they 
gathered  their  crop,  which,  owing  to  the  drought,  and 
also  to  the  unfavorable  method  of  planting,  yielded 
only  ten  or  twelve  tons  to  the  acre.  The  beets  were  of 
excellent  saccharine  properties,  containing  twelve  and 
a  half  per  cent,  in  sugar.  The  heavy  outlay  required 
exhausted  their  means ;  or,  to  use  their  own  words, 
"  We  started  on  too  large  a  scale  for  our  purse,  which 
gave  out  too  soon,  before  the  machinery  which  was 
required  for  a  successful  working  was  finished  ;  but 
experience  has  shown  us  sufficiently  that  sugar  enough 
is  contained  in  the  beets,  and  that  it  can  be  got  out. 
With  our  imperfect,  or  rather  incomplete,  machinery, 
we  extracted  seven  per  cent,  in  melado.  Those  beets 
would  average,  with  complete  machinery,  nine  per 
cent." 

The  Messrs.  Gennert  have  put  theii*  property  into 
a  stock  company,  called  the  "  Germania  Sugar  Com 
pany,"  and  have  six  hundred  acres  of  land  in  cultiva 
tion  with  beets  this  season. 

I  submit  their  estimate  of  the  profits  of  working 
one  hundred  tons  of  beets  per  day,  with  the  following 
productions  of  sugar,  on  a  capital  of  $200,000  :  — 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  63 

At  6  per  cent.,  .  .     73  per  cent,  profit. 

7  "  .  .    91       "         " 

8  "  .  .  109        "          " 

9  "  .  .  127        "          " 


GENERAL  ADVANTAGES  OF  BEET-SUGAR  MANU 
FACTURE. 

The  "Journal  des  Fabricants  de  Sucre,"  in  its  issue 
of  December  8,  1864,  says,  "We  find  that  the  abo 
lition,  of  slavery  in  America  and  the  West  India 
Islands,  which  seems  to  us  the  inevitable  result  of 
the  America  war,  at  the  same  time  that  it  increases 
the  demand  for  sugar  must  diminish  the  supply  about 
500,000  tons.  The  production  of  Louisiana  will  be  de 
stroyed,  that  of  Cuba  diminished  one  half  or  one  third, 
and  that  of  Brazil  will  be  reduced.  How  is  this  defi 
ciency  to  be  supplied  ?  The  consumption  of  the  United 
States  is  nearly  as  large  as  that  of  Great  Britain,  and 
they  will  probably  be  driven  by  necessity  to  manufac 
ture  sugar  from  the  beet,  the  processes  for  which  they 
can  learn  of  Europe.  As  for  France,  Belgium,  and 
Germany,  they  can  easily  double  or  triple  their  pro 
duction  ;  for  it  does  not  require  long  preparation  of 
the  soil  to  produce  beets.  Capital  is  abundant  for 
such  an  enterprise ;  and  even  at  the  present  rate  of 
increase,  production  doubles  every  ten  years." 

"  England  may  fear  that  the  manufacture  of  beet 
sugar  in  Great  Britain  would  prejudice  her  colonial 
interests ;  but  some  of  her  statesmen  foresee  its  intro 
duction."  The  editor  predicts  that  the  effect  of  the 
change  in  the  sources  of  supply  would  be  to  dimin- 


6<j  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

ish,  and  not  to  enhance,  the  price  of  sugars.  He  goes 
on  to  say,  "  The  North  and  the  South  may  fight  as 
long  as  they  like.  The  4,000,000  slaves  in  the  South 
ern  States  may  be  freed,  the  400,000  negroes  in  Cuba 
may  also  be  emancipated,  as  well  as  those  of  Brazil. 
The  African  slave  trade  may  stop,  drought  and  insects 
may  continue  to  ravage  the  sugar  plantations  of  Re 
union  and  Mauritius,  but  sugar  will  not  become  scarce 
in  Europe  for  all  that.  We  shall  continue  to  be  sup 
plied  by  our  own  admirable  industry,  whose  advan 
tages  and  development  we  have  set  forth." 

In  a  later  issue  the  probability  is  discussed  of  the 
United  States  continuing  to  import  annually  300,000 
to  400,000  tons  of  sugar  from  Cuba  and  Brazil,  "  when 
they  have  the  ability  to  supply  all  their  wants  with 
beet  sugar  from  their  own  soil,  not  only  with  certainty 
of  profit  to  the  manufacturer,  under  the  existing  tariff, 
but  also  with  advantage  to  the  whole  country,  because 
of  the  unreliability  of  the  cane  crop  of  Louisiana, 
which  never  ripens,  and  which  at  any  rate  is  certain  to 
be  paralyzed  for  the  next  ten  years. 

u  But  even  if  the  duties  on  foreign  sugars  should 
be  abolished,  the  advantage  would  be  on  the  side  of 
the  beet-sugar  manufacturer,  who  will  probably  have 
less  need  of  protection  than  the  Louisiana  planter. 

"  The  people  of  the  Northern  States  will  not  long 
defer  the  cultivation  of  a  plant  which  contains  so  much 
sugar  that  it  will  soon  teach  them  to  forget  that  which 
was  formerly  produced  upon  the  banks  of  the  Missis 
sippi.  As  to  the  competition  of  Cuban  and  Brazilian  su 
gars,  they  have  no  more  cause  to  fear  it  than  have  the 
beet-sugar  makers  of  France  and  Germany,  where  the 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  65 

economical  conditions  are  far  less  favorable  than  those 
of  the  Northern  and  Western  States." 

The  beet-sugar  industry  has  been  of  vast  benefit  to 
Europe.  Notwithstanding  the  high  protective  policy 
to  which  it  owes  its  existence,  and  which,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  was  pursued  for  a  time  at  the  expense  of  the 
public,  which  paid  higher  for  sugar  than  it  would  oth 
erwise  have  done,  yet  there  is  no  question  that  sugars 
have  been  cheaper  throughout  the  world  for  the  past 
fifteen  years  than  they  would  have  been  had  the  in 
dustry  not  existed. 

Formerly  the  production  of  sugar  was  a  monopoly 
confined  to  the  tropics,  where  its  possession,  combined 
with  the  cheapness  of  land  and  the  system  of  slavery, 
fostered  in  planters  and  manufacturers  an  extrava 
gant,  shiftless,  and  costly  method  of  manufacture. 

The  vast  improvements  that  science  has  brought  to 
bear  on  the  chemistry  and  mechanics  of  beet-sugar  pro 
duction  in  Europe  have  awakened  the  planters  and 
manufacturers  of  the  tropics  to  the  necessity  for  prog 
ress,  if  they  desire  to  retain  their  supremacy. 

Almost  all  the  improvements  made  in  cane-sugar 
manufacture  in  the  last  fifteen  years  owe  their  origin 
to  the  beet-sugar  establishments  of  France  and  Ger 
many. 

The  effects  produced  upon  agriculture  in  Europe  by 
the  cultivation  of  beets  for  sugar  and  alcohol  have 
been  astounding,  and  the  importance  of  the  interest  is 
now  everywhere  acknowledged. 

In  the  cane-sugar  countries  upon  the  territory  sur 
rounding  a  sugar  establishment  no  crop  is  to  be  seen 
but  the  cane,  while  cattle  and  sheep  are  few.  In  the 


66  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

sugar  districts  of  Europe,  on  the  contrary,  the  fields  in 
the  vicinity  of  a  sugar  manufactory  are  covered  with 
the  greatest  diversity  of  crops,  among  which  are  beets, 
wheat,  rye,  oats,  barley,  corn,  rape,  flax,  tobacco,  and 
all  the  cultivated  grasses.  Every  field  is  cultivated 
close  up  to  the  road-side,  and  the  stables  are  filled  with 
fire  cattle,  sheep,  horses,  and  swine. 

No  farmer  needs  to  be  told  which  system  is  the  best 
and  most  enduring. 

M.  Dureau,  author  of  several  valuable  works  on 
beet  sugar,  and  also  the  editor  of  the  "Journal  des 
Fabricants  de  Sucre,"  says  "  The  cultivation  of  the 
beet  is  getting  to  be  highly  popular. 

"  The  president  of  an  agricultural  society  is  sure  to 
gain  all  hearts  when  he  talks  about  beets.  No  agri 
cultural  newspaper  can  abstain  from  entertaining  its 
readers  with  accounts  of  the  precious  plant,  and  there 
is  no  farmer  who  does  not  introduce  it  into  his  fields 
with  the  view  of  its  conversion  either  into  sugar  or 
alcohol.  Everybody  sings  its  praises ;  and  surely 
none  have  a  better  right  to  join  in  the  concert  than  we, 
who  have  always  been  its  advocates  for  the  sake  of  the 
industry  with  which  it  is  allied." 

A  French  writer,  after  having  demonstrated  the  im 
portance  of  the  beet-sugar  industry  to  agriculture,  in 
urging  its  extension,  says,  "  Who  would  believe  that 
England,  with  her  poor  soil,  her  wet  climate,  and  her 
pale  sun,  could  produce  crops  of  grain  double  ours, 
and  that  the  yield  of  her  fields  surpassed  that  of  the 
luxuriant  plains  of  Lombardy  ?  The  perfection  of  her 
agriculture  explains  this  wonderful  production.  So 
does  the  progress  of  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar  ex- 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  67 

plain  how  the  cultivator  of  the  north  can  extract  as 
much  sugar  from  a  hectare  of  his  cold  and  wet  land, 
as  the  indolent  Creole  from  the  rich  soil  of  the  Antilles, 
bathed  in  sweet  odors  and  in  sunshine." 

The  basis  of  the  agriculture  of  England  is  the  turnip. 
In  the  best  cultivated  districts  of  France,  it  is  the  beet. 
M.  Barral,  a  celebrated  writer  on  agriculture,  says, 
"  I  did  not  find  any  good  crops  except  in  those  coun 
tries  where  an  industrial  culture  prevailed,  which  is 
especially  the  case  in  those  where  the  beet  is  culti 
vated." 

Another  writer  says,  "  Of  all  species  of  industry 
which  it  is  desirable  to  see  extended  in  France,  the 
manufacture  of  sugar  and  alcohol  occupies  the  first 
rank.  Branches  of  industry  which  are  pursued  in  the 
winter  deserve  to  be  supported,  because  they  give  em 
ployment  to  laborers  who  work  in  the  fields  in  sum 
mer,  and  thereby  enable  them  to  increase  the  amount 
of  their  yearly  wages." 

Another  writer  says,  that  "  all  cultivators  and  econ 
omists  are  unanimous  in  recommending  the  cultivation 
of  the  sugar-producing  plant,  which  is  the  source  of 
deep  tillage,  heavy  manuring,  and  increased  produc 
tion.  No  one  believes  now  that  it  exhausts  and  im 
poverishes  the  soil,  or  that  it  hurts  other  crops  :  these 
are  the  prejudices  of  a  by-gone  age,  which  science 
and  practice  have  banished,  to  set  up  in  their  place  a 
recognition  of  benefits  of  the  highest  order  produced 
by  the  culture  of  the  beet." 

M.  Bureau  says,  "  The  manufacture  of  beet  sugar 
was  formerly  charged  with  being  a  local  industry. 
To-day  it  no  longer  deserves  that  reproach,  for  it  is  not 


68  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

alone  in  the  north  of  France  that  it  is  pursued ;  but  it 
has  penetrated  into  the  east,  the  west,  and  the  south, 
—  into  Germany,  Russia,  Italy,  Austria,  Spain — every 
where." 

Another  says,  that  "  everywhere  the  beet  is  culti 
vated  in  France,  land  advances  in  value,  and  the 
wages  of  workmen  take  the  same  direction." 

"  All  Europe,  though  France  has  contributed  the 
largest  and  most  glorious  part  towards  the  accom 
plishment  of  the  result,  is  destined  to  become  a  great 
sugar-producing  country,  not  less  important  than  those 
where  they  cultivate  the  cane,  which  many  believed  to 
be  the  only  plant  suitable  for  the  production  of  sugar, 
that  precious  food,  of  which  people  of  the  present  age 
are  such  large  consumers.  Why  should  not  sugar, 
which  the  mysterious  forces  of  nature  have  secreted  in 
the  beet,  be  extracted  from  it,  and  the  soil,  prepared  for 
new  harvests,  and  rendered  doubly  fertile  by  the  thor 
ough  cultivation  it  demands,  furnish  increasing  quan 
tities  of  food  for  man,  and  for  beast?  It  is  the  triumph 
of  industry." 

L'Echo  Agricole  says,  that  "  all  farmers  who  ob 
tain  first  prizes  at  the  agricultural  exhibitions  are 
either  sugar  manufacturers,  distillers,  or  cultivators  of 
the  beet.  Those  who  have  adopted  this  branch  of 
agriculture,  either  as  proprietors  or  tenants,  have  really 
obtained  astonishing  results.  They  would  be  surprised 
if  they  did  not  carry  off  all  the  first  prizes  at  the  pub 
lic  exhibitions,  and  were  consequently  mentioned  in 
the  official  reports  of  the  government." 

M.  Vallerand,  who  took  the  first  prize  in  the  De 
partment  of  Aisne,  bought,  in  1853,  a  farm  of  eight 


CULTIVATION   OF   THE   BEET. 


69 


hundred  and  thirty-two  acres,  the  sales  of  produce 
from  which  amounted  to  $8,000.  In  1859  ^  produced 
$41,200.  M.  Dargent,  who  took  the  first  prize  in  the 
Department  of  Seine  Inferieure,  cultivated  only  fifty 
acres.  He  so  increased  the  production  of  this  farm 
that  he  obtained  154,000  pounds,  or  68  tons  and  168 
pounds,  of  beets  from  a  single  acre.  His  yield  of  wheat 
was  43^-  bushels,  and  of  oats  59^-  bushels,  to  an  acre. 

M.  Hary,  Pas  de  Calais,  obtained  from  two  hundred 
and  ninety-five  acres  5,225  bushels  of  wheat,  2,500 
tons  of  beets,  and  fattened  150  head  of  cattle. 

The  culture  of  the  beet  involves  the  necessity  of 
deep  ploughing,  heavy  manuring,  and  thorough  weed 
ing.  The  pulp  from  which  the  juice  is  extracted  in 
the  manufacture  is  an  excellent  food  for  cattle,  the 
number  of  which  has  been  increased,  in  the  districts 
devoted  to  that  industry,  from  eight  to  ten  fold  since 
the  introduction  of  sugar  making. 

The  cattle  furnish  an  immense  amount  of  manure, 
which,  applied  to  the  deeply-ploughed  and  well-weeded 
beet  lands,  enhances  their  productiveness  for  the  cereal 
crops. 

In  1853,  when  the  emperor  and  empress  came  to 
Valenciennes,  a  triumphal  arch  was  erected,  with  the 
following  inscription :  — 

SUGAR  MANUFACTURE. 

Napoleon  I.  who  created  it.  Napoleon  III.  who  protected  it. 


Before  the  manufacture  of  beet 
sugar,  the  arrondissement  of 
Valenciennes,  produced  695,750 
bushels  of  wheat,  and  fattened 
700  oxen. 


Since  the  manufacture  of  beet 
sugar  was  introduced,  the  arron 
dissement  of  Valenciennes  pro 
duces  1,157,750  bushels  of  wheat, 
and  fattens  11,500  oxen. 


70  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

The  brothers  Fievet  have  a  model  farm  of  552  acres 
at  Masny,  which  is  considered  the  best  in  France. 
They  are  sugar  manufacturers,  and  fatten  800  head  of 
cattle  and  3,000  sheep  every  year.  I  visited  there  last 
winter,  and  spent  a  day  in  their  manufactories  and  on 
their  farm.  They  attribute  their  success  as  cultivators 
to  the  immense  amount  of  manure  that  the  beet  pulp 
enables  them  to  make,  to  the  improved  condition  of 
the  soil,  and  also  to  the  increased  amount  of  profitable 
service  of  the  land,  consequent  upon  beet  culture,  no 
fallows  being  required. 

They  have  cultivated  the  farm  for  thirteen  years  :  the 
crops  are  beet,  wheat,  oats,  rye,  and  hay.  I  shall 
give  some  of  the  results  of  the  eleven  years  preced 
ing  1864.  The  average  amount  of  land  in  oats  had 
been  thirty  acres.  In  1853  the  crop  was  45^  bushels, 
in  1862  nearly  92^  bushels,  and  the  average  for  the 
whole  time  within  a  fraction  of  70  bushels  to  the  acre. 

The  crop  of  straw  increased  in  like  proportion,  and 
averaged  two  tons  to  an  acre.  In  1863  it  .was  nearly 
three  tons. 

The  crops  of  rye  improved  in  a  still  greater  ratio  — 
increasing  from  17  to  34^-  bushels  per  acre,  averaging 
nearly  30  bushels,  with  two  tons  of  straw  to  the  acre. 

The  average  crops  on  156  acres  of  wheat  had  been 
over  36^  bushels  to  the  acre. 

Parts  of  the  land  had  sometimes  produced  67!  bush 
els  to  the  acre,  and  no  portion  had  ever  yielded  less 
than  20^  bushels.  The  yield  of  hay  had  been  over 
three  tons ;  and  of  beets  twenty  tons  to  an  acre. 

In  1865,  thirty,  thirty-five,  and  even  forty  tons  of 
beets  were  raised  on  an  acre. 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET, 


As  to  the  cost  of  producing  these  crops,  the  Messrs. 
Fievet  stated  that  the  thorough  cultivation  of  the 
ground  for  beets  reduced  the  cost  of  cultivating  suc 
ceeding  crops  enormously.* 

Thus,  after  deducting  the  proceeds  of  the  straw, 
their  oats  cost  them  less  than  thirty  cents,  their  wheat 
less  than  sixty  cents,  and  their  rye  less  than  thirty- 
eight  cents,  per  bushel. 

This  they  attribute  to  underdraining,  to  the  use  on  the 
beet  crop  of  lime,  either  pure  or  the  carbonate  of  lime 
from  the  filter  presses  of  the  factory,  to  the  liberal  ap 
plication  of  other  manures,  to  deep  ploughing,  thorough 
weeding,  and  cultivation.  The  grain  crops  are  not 
manured,  and  the  ground  is  so  thoroughly  prepared 


*  The  subjoined  table  shows  approximately  the  average  yield  of 
certain  crops  per  acre  in  twenty-three  of  the  United  States,  in  the 
year  1865,  according  to  the  Report  of  the  Department  of  Ag 
riculture  for  January,  1866  :  — 


Crops. 

Highest  average 
yield. 

Lowest  average 
yield. 

Wheat,       .... 
Kve 

13£  bush. 
15 

Minnesota,    20-| 
Kansas,         23 

Kentucky,       7£ 
Delaware         7 

Barley,       .     .     .     . 
Oats,     

23! 

Vermont,       28! 
Minnesota,    4l£ 

Mass.              19£ 
Delaware,      12 

ogl 

Nebraska      46^ 

Delaware       16^ 

Buckwheat,    .     .     . 
Potatoes,    .... 
Tobacco,  16  States,  . 
Hay,      

194 

113 

906     Ibs. 
1^  tons. 

Nebraska,     26§ 
Minnesota,  197 
Conn.        1,350 
Nebraska,       2 

Delaware,      10.^ 
Kentucky,     59^ 
Kansas,        533 
Maine,              1 

Sorghum  molasses,  ] 
18  States,               < 

110!  gals. 

Kansas,        129 

New  York,    75 

The  productions  of  the  farm  at  Masny  vastly  exceed  those 
of  the  States  named.  The  explanation  is  to  be  found  not  in  the 
soil  or  the  climate,  but  solely  in  the  cultivation. 


72  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

by  the  beet  for  succeeding  crops,  that  a  single  light 
ploughing  suffices  for  the  grain,  which  is  all  sowed  in 
drills  by  a  machine. 

Before  the  introduction  of  the  sugar  industry  into 
France,  workmen  in  the  country,  by  reason  of  a  lack 
of  employment,  were  so  constantly  emigrating  to  the 
city,  that  government  instituted  inquiries  to  ascertain 
the  cause,  and  also  the  best  method  of  preventing  it. 
Now,  the  natural  tendency  of  workmen  to  seek  the 
capital  is  not  noticed  in  the  sugar-producing  districts, 
where  the  industry  gives  ample  and  well-paid  employ 
ment  to  all,  both  in  summer  and  in  winter,  and  where 
crime  and  pauperism  have  sensibly  diminished. 

Agriculture  was  looked  upon  as  the  calling  of  peas 
ants,  requiring  little  intelligence  and  no  education.  It 
is  far  otherwise  now,  and  to  be  successful  as  a  farmer 
involves  the  necessity  of  having  a  good  education. 
The  introduction  of  sugar-making  into  France,  and 
the  intimate  relation  between  that  industry  and  agri 
culture,  called  for  improved  methods  of  culture,  and  a 
more  intelligent  and  scientific  application  of  labor. 
Intelligence  and  education  were  decentralized  for  the 
benefit  of  the  whole  country ;  capital  also  lent  its 
powerful  aid,  and  agriculture  made  rapid  progress, 
while  the  condition  of  the  laborers  also  was  materially 
improved. 

Louis  Napoleon,  the  present  emperor  of  the 
French,  when  he  was  imprisoned  at  Ham,  in  1842, 
said  of  the  beet-sugar  industry,  in  his  "  Analyse  de  la 
Question  des  Sucres,"  "  It  retains  workmen  in  the  coun 
try,  and  gives  them  employment  in  the  dullest  months 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  73 

of  the  year  ;  it  diffuses  among  the  agricultural  classes 
good  methods  of  culture,  calling  to  their  aid  industrial 
science  and  the  arts  of  practical  chemistry  and  me 
chanics.  It  multiplies  the  centres  of  labor.  It  pro 
motes,  in  consequence,  those  sound  principles  upon 
which  rest  the  organization  of  society  and  the  security 
of  governments  ;  for  the  prosperity  of  a  people  is  the 
basis  of  public  order.  *  *  * 

"  Wherever  the  beet  is  cultivated,  the  value  of  land 
is  enhanced,  the  wages  of  the  workmen  are  increased, 
and  the  general  prosperity  is  promoted." 

In  another  place  the  same  author  puts  the  following 
words  in  the  mouth  of  the  sugar  industry  :  "  Respect 
me,  for  I  improve  the  soil.  I  make  land  fertile,  which, 
without  me,  would  be  uncultivated.  I  give  employ 
ment  to  laborers,  who  otherwise  would  be  idle.  I 
solve  one  of  the  greatest  problems  of  modern  society. 
I  organize  and  elevate  labor." 

The  conclusions  to  which  I  have  arrived  are,  — 

That  the  skill,  which  is  the  result  of  the  experience 
of  more  than  a  century,  and  which  has  made  France 
independent  of  foreign  countries  for  her  supply  of 
sugar,  is  available  for  us  to-day. 

That  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar  can  be  success 
fully  transplanted  from  France  to  the  United  States. 

That  sugar  can  be  produced  in  this  country  from 
the  beet  nearly  if  not  quite  as  cheaply  as  it  can  be 
from  the  cane  in  Cuba,  or  any  other  country. 

That  the  protection  of  transportation  alone  is  suf 
ficient  to  render  it  impossible  for  the  sugar  of  tropical 
4 


74  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

climates  to  compete  with  beet  sugar  in  the  United 
States. 

That  as  the  climate  of  the  Southern  States  does  not 
permit  the  cane  to  ripen,  and  as  the  yield  of  sugar 
from  unripe  cane  is  comparatively  small,  it  is  impossi 
ble  to  make  sugar  from  cane  in  the  United  States  so 
cheaply  as  it  can  be  made  from  beets. 

And  that  at  present  prices  beet  sugar  can  be  manu 
factured  in  this  country  at  a  profit  of  from  eighty  to 
one  hundred  per  cent. 

By  the  new  internal  revenue  law  beet  sugar  enjoys 
a  protection  over  the  sugar  of  the  cane  of  from  one  to 
two  cents  per  pound  in  currency. 

Duties  on  foreign  sugars  are  from  three  to  four  and 
a  half  cents  per  pound  in  gold. 

The  necessities  of  government,  and  the  very  ap 
parent  advantages  arising  from  introducing  the  manu 
facture  of  beet  sugar  into  this  country,  render  it 
probable  that  the  protection  now  accorded  will  be 
maintained  for  the  present. 

The  cost  of  transportation  from  the  seaboard  to  Il 
linois  is  an  additional  protection  on  sugar  raised  in 
Illinois  of  about  one  cent  per  pound. 

The  amount  of  beets  raised  in  France  in  1865  could 
not  have  been,  on  297,000  acres  of  land,  less  than 
5,000,000  tons,  producing  at  least  1,000,000  tons  of 
pulp  —  an  amount  sufficient  to  feed  90,000  cattle  or 
nearly  1,000,000  sheep  for  one  year,  or  to  fatten  in  the 
winter  months  nearly  three  times  that  number.  It 
also  furnished  agriculture  with  more  than  1,500,000 
tons  of  manure.  In  an  agricultural  point  of  view,  the 


W.  X.  WINTEKHALTER 

CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  75 

effect  produced  by  the  culture  of  so  much  land  in 
beets,  and  the  application  of  the  manure  of  so  many 
cattle,  with  the  consequent  increase  in  the  amount  and 
value  of  subsequent  crops,  is  perfectly  apparent.  The 
quality  of  wheat  raised  after  beets  is  better  than  that 
usually  produced ;  the  ears  are  larger  and  heavier,  the 
straw  stronger,  and  not  so  liable  to  lodge.  The  berry 
is  larger  and  brighter;  its  specific  gravity  is  also 
greater,  weighing  from  two  to  three  pounds  per  bushel 
more  than  ordinary  wheat. 

But  these  effects  are  not  all,  even  of  those  having  an 
agricultural  bearing,  which  the  great  industry  pro 
duces.  They  are  not  confined  to  the  comparatively 
narrow  circle  that  surrounds  the  factory,  in  which  are 
expended  for  beets  and  for  labor  large  sums  that  foster 
industry,  and  scatter  plenty  in  the  surrounding  vil 
lages.  The  distribution  of  these  large  amounts  for 
labor  and  for  the  crop  opens  a  better  market  for  the 
productions  of  other  branches  of  industry,  agri 
cultural,  mechanical,  manufacturing,  mining,  and 
commercial. 

To  till  the  land  and  to  consume  the  pulp,  many 
horses,  as  well  as  vast  numbers  of  cattle  and  sheep,  are 
required.  These  are  purchased  from  other  sections, 
for  the  departments  in  which  the  beet  is  cultivated  are 
not  grazing  districts  in  which  cattle  are  raised,  but 
they  are  preeminently  distinguished  for  supporting 
and  fattening  cattle. 

The  improved  condition  of  the  70,000  laborers 
engaged  in  this  industry,  one  fifth  of  whom  are  wo 
men  and  children,  makes  them  larger  consumers  of 
tea,  coffee,  meat,  clothing,  —  of  all  the  necessaries  of 


76  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

life.  Their  enlarged  means  place  within  their  reach 
many  hitherto  unattainable  luxuries. 

The  industry  also  calls  into  existence  many  estab 
lishments  for  the  manufacture  of  agricultural  tools. 
It  gives  employment  to  chemists  and  engineers ;  to 
machinists,  founders,  carpenters,  blacksmiths,  cop 
persmiths,  wheelwrights,  and  plumbers ;  to  woollen 
and  linen  manufacturers  for  the  sacks  it  requires.  It 
is  a  large  consumer  of  coal,  of  iron,  and  of  other 
metals,  products  of  the  mine.  It  contributes  largely 
to  the  support  of  railroads  and  canals.  It  adds  its 
quota  to  the  extension  of  commerce.  Finally,  it 
pays  to  government  an  excise  tax  on  sugar  and  al 
cohol  of  more  than  $27,000,000  per  annum,  without 
taking  into  account  other  taxes,  state  and  local,  that 
are  assessed  on  the  $45,000,000  that  it  has  invested  in 
buildings  and  machinery. 

It  has  not  only  added  immensely  to  the  extent  of 
arable  land,  but  has  largely  increased  the  productive 
ness  and  value  of  that  already  cultivated.  It  has 
enabled  France  to  produce  more  corn  at  less  cost  than 
she  ever  did  before,  and  kept  down  the  prices  of  all 
grains,  of  beef,  and  of  mutton.  At  the  same  time  it 
produces  for  man  sugar,  meat,  bread,  alcohol,  potash, 
and  soda  ;  it  furnishes  nutritious  food  for  cattle,  sheep, 
and  swine,  together  with  hay  and  grain  for  the  horse. 
In  the  opinion  of  eminent  French  statesmen,  it  has 
twice,  within  fifteen  years,  saved  France  from  a 
famine. 

The  historian  Thiers  has  called  it  "  the  Providence 
of  the  empire." 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  BEET.  77 

EFFECT  OF   ITS   INTRODUCTION  INTO   THE   UNITED 
STATES. 

The  effect  of  its  introduction  into  the  United  States 
would  be  to  produce  results  correspondingly  greater 
than  have  attended  it  in  Europe,  for  here  the  con 
sumption  of  sugar  per  capita  is  nearly  four  times 
greater,  and  the  value  of  lands  is  not  a  quarter  of  those 
in  continental  Europe,  while  they  are  by  nature  far 
richer  and  more  easily  cultivated.  The  supply  of  coal 
is  unlimited.  The  vast  distances  over  which  many 
farmers  are  obliged  to  transport  their  produce  render 
it  oftentimes  impossible  to  dispose  of  their  more  bulky 
crops  at  a  profit.  The  introduction  of  sugar-making 
would  give  them  another  and  most  profitable  crop,  for 
which  they  would  have  a  home  market.  It  would 
enlarge  the  local  demand  for  other  farm  produce  by 
interspersing  a  manufacturing  with  an  agricultural 
population,  to  the  great  advantage  of  both.  It  would 
go  far  to  change  the  present  wasteful  and  necessa 
rily  unenduring  system  of  agriculture,  and  to  substi 
tute  for  it  another,  founded  upon  more  correct  princi 
ples —  a  system  self-sustaining  and  improving,  rather 
than  suicidal  and  degenerating. 

The  gold  value  of  sugars  imported  into  this  country 
is  nearly  $80,000,000  per  annum. 

The  annual  consumption  of  sugar  in  the  United 
States  before  the  war  was  over  450,000  tons. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  within  twenty  years  it  will 
be  more  than  1,000,000  tons,  for  with  the  customary 
increase  of  population  and  the  consumption  per  head 
that  existed  before  the  war,  that  amount  would  be  re 
quired. 


78  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR. 

With  a  proper  rotation  of  crops  the  production  of 
that  amount  of  sugar  involves  the  cultivation  of 
4,000,000  acres  of  land,  of  which  1,000,000  would  be 
in  beets,  the  base  of  the  system.  It  would  give  em 
ployment  the  year  round,  in  the  fields  and  in  the  mills, 
to  more  than  125,000  men,  women,  and  children.  It 
would  require  $100,000,000  to  be  expended  in  build 
ings  and  machinery.  It  would  disburse  annually 
$100,000,000  for  labor  and  materials.  It  would  re 
quire  each  year  more  than  1,500,000  tons  of  coal.  It 
would  fatten  every  year  400,000  head  of  cattle,  or 
4,000,000  sheep. 

There  is  hardly  an  interest  that  it  would  injure, 
while  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  one  that  would  con 
fer  so  many,  so  great,  and  so  general  advantages  upon 
the  country.  It  is  destined  to  become  one  of  the  most 
important  branches  of  national  industry. 


79 


PART     II. 


THE  BEET  AND  ITS   CULTIVATION. 

THE  beet  is  a  half-hardy,  biennial  plant ;  its  roots 
attain  their  full  size  the  first  year,  but  will  not  survive 
our  winters  in  the  open  ground.  Seeds  are  produced 
from  transplanted  roots,  after  which  the  plant  dies. 

Analysis  of  the  Beet,  according  to  Professor  Payen. 

Per  cent. 

Water, 83.5 

Sugar  in  solution, 10.5 

Cellulose  and  pectose, 8 

Albumen,  caseine,  and  nitrogenous  matters,  .  .  1.5 
Malic  acid  ;  pectine  ;  gummy  substances  ;  fatty, 
aromatic,  and  coloring  matters ;  essential  oil ; 
chlorophylle  ;  asparamide  ;  oxalate  and  phos 
phate  of  lime;  phosphate  of  magnesia  ;  silicate, 
nitrate,  sulphate,  and  oxalate  of  potash ;  ox 
alate  of  soda  ;  chloride  of  sodium  and  potassi 
um  ;  pectate  of  lime,  potash,  and  soda ;  sulphur, 
silica,  and  oxide  of  iron, 3.7 

100. 


8O  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 


VARIETIES  OF  THE  BEET. 

There  are  many  different  varieties,  of  which  I  shall 
describe  a  few  of  those  employed  for  manufacturing 
and  agricultural  purposes. 

LONG    RED    MANGEL-WURZEL. 

Red  Mangel-wurzel.  —  Marbled  Field  Beet.  —  Lawson. 

Burr  describes  this  beet  as  follows  :  "  Root  fusiform, 
contracted  at  the  crown,  which  in  the  genuine  variety 
rises  six  or  eight  inches  above  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  Size  large,  when  grown  in  good  soil ;  often 
measuring  eighteen  inches  in  length  and  six  or  seven 
inches  in  diameter.  Skin  below  ground  purplish-rose  ; 
brownish-red  where  exposed  to  the  air  and  light. 
Leaves  green  ;  the  stems  and  nerves  washed  or  stained 
with  rose-red.  Flesh  white,  zoned  and  clouded  with 
different  shades  of  red. 

"  The  long  red  mangel-wurzel  is  hardy  ;  keeps  well ; 
grows  rapidly  ;  is  very  productive,  and  in  this  country 
is  more  generally  cultivated  for  agricultural  purposes 
than  any  other  variety.  According  to  Lawson,  the 
marbled  or  mixed  color  of  its  flesh  seems  particularly 
liable  to  vary :  in  some  specimens  it  is  almost  of  a 
uniform  red,  while  in  others  the  red  is  scarcely,  and 
often  not  at  all,  perceptible.  These  variations  of  color 
are,  however,  of  no  importance  as  respects  the  quality 
of  the  roots.  The  yield  varies  with  the  quality  of  the 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET.  8l 

soil  and  the  state  of  cultivation,  thirty  and  thirty-five 
tons  being  frequently  harvested  from  an  acre." 

GERMAN   RED   MANGEL-WURZEL. 
Disette  d'Allemagne.  —  Vilmorin. 

Burr  describes  it  as  "  an  improved  variety  of  the  long 
red  mangel-wurzel,  almost  regularly  cylindrical,  and 
terminating  at  the  lower  extremity  in  an  obtuse  cone. 
It  grows  much  out  of  ground ;  the  neck  or  crown  is 
comparatively  small ;  it  is  rarely  forked  or  deformed 
by  small  side  roots,  and  is  generally  much  neater  and 
more  regular  than  the  long  red.  Size  very  large ; 
well-developed  specimens  measuring  from  eighteen  to 
twenty  inches  in  length,  and  seven  or  eight  inches  in 
diameter.  Flesh  white,  with  red  zones  or  rings. 
Leaves  erect,  green ;  the  stems  and  nerves  washed  or 
stained  with  rose-red. 

"  For  agricultural  purposes  this  variety  is  superior 
to  the  long  red,  as  it  is  larger,  more  productive,  and 
more  easily  harvested." 

LONG  WHITE   GREEN-TOP   MANGEL-WURZEL. 

Green-top  White  Sugar.  —  Long  White  Mangel-wurzel.  —  Disette 
blanche  k  collet  vert.  —  Vilmorin. 

"An  improved  variety  of  the  white  sugar  beet. 
Root  produced  much  above  ground)  and  of  very  large 
size  ;  if  well  grown,  measuring  nearly  six  inches  in 
diameter,  and  eighteen  inches  in  depth  —  the  diameter 
often  retained  for  nearly  two  thirds  the  length.  Skin 
green,  where  exposed  to  light  and  air ;  below  ground, 
4* 


82  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

white.  Flesh  white.  Leaves  green,  rather  large,  and 
not  so  numerous  as  those  of  the  white  sugar. 

"  Very  productive,  and  superior  to  the  long  red  for 
agricultural  purposes  ;  the  quality  being  equally  good, 
and  the  yield  much  greater."  {Burr.) 

Vilmorin  describes  it  as  follows :  "  It  is  one  of  the 
best  for  sugar  manufacturers.  It  has  a  smooth  skin, 
grows  beneath  the  surface,  is  rather  large,  and  keeps 
well.  Production,  sixteen  to  twenty  tons  to  an  acre. 
It  has  been  neglected  lately  in  France,  because  there 
are  so  many  kinds  resembling  it,  which  grow  out  of 
the  soil,  and  are  less  profitable  to  sugar  manufacturers. 
It  is,  nevertheless,  superior  to  the  collet  rose." 


LONG   WHITE   RED-TOP   MANGEL-WURZEL. 
Disette  blanche  k  collet  rose. —  Vilmorin. 

Vilmorin  describes  this  beet  as  follows  :  "  The  bet- 
terave  blanche  a  collet  rose  was  formerly  more  ex 
tensively  cultivated  than  at  present,  farmers  having 
substituted  for  it  the  '  collet  vert ; '  but  the  appearance 
of  so  many  degenerate  kinds  of  the  latter  has  lately 
induced  many  farmers  to  resume  the  cultivation  of  the 
former.  Its  root  is  well  shaped,  smooth,  long,  and 
grows  but  little  above  the  soil.  Its  flesh  is  white, 
zoned  with  red.  It  contained  in  1860  about  seven  per 
cent,  of  sugar.  In  spite  of  this  low  percentage  its 
cultivation  in  the  north  of  France  is  increasing.  By 
improved  culture  it  produces  larger  quantities  of  sugar, 
approaching  in  richness  to  the  standard  of  the  '  collet 
vert ; '  it  keeps  well,  and  its  color  enables  manufac 
turers  and  cultivators  to  recognize  it  readily." 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET.  83 

YELLOW   CASTELNAUDARY. 

Burr  describes  it  as  follows  :  "  Root  produced  within 
the  earth,  broadest  at  the  crown,  where  its  diameter 
is  nearly  three  inches,  and  tapering  gradually  to  a 
point,  the  length  being  about  eight  inches.  Skin 
orange-yellow.  Flesh  clear  yellow,  with  paler  zones 
or  rings.  Leaves  spreading,  those  on  the  outside  be 
ing  on  stems  about  four  inches  in  length ;  the  inner 
ones  are  shorter,  numerous,  of  a  dark-green  color,  and 
rather  waved  on  the  edges :  the  leaf-stems  are  green 
rather  than  yellow. 

"  An  excellent  table  beet,  being  tender,  yet  firm,  and 
very  sweet  when  boiled,  although  its  color  is  not  so 
agreeable  to  the  eye." 

Sarrazin  describes  it  (betterave  jaune)  as  "  growing 
entirety  beneath  the  surface,  and  having  the  form  of  a 
pear,  not  very  heavy,  but  quite  sugary,  producing  little 
foliage,  succeeding  well  in  poor  soils,  and  yielding  well 
where  other  kinds  produce  small  crops.  The  stalks 
of  the  leaves  have  the  same  yellow  color  as  the  root." 

YELLOW    GLOBE    MANGEL-WURZEL. 
Betterave  jaune  globe.  —  Vilmorin. 

"  This  is  a  globular-formed  beet,  measuring  about  ten 
inches  in  diameter,  and  weighing  ten  or  twelve  pounds  ; 
about  one  half  of  the  root  growing  above  ground. 
Skin  yellow  where  it  is  covered  by  the  soil,  and  yel 
lowish-brown  above  the  surface  where  exposed  to  light 
and  air.  Flesh  white,  zoned  or  marked  with  yellow, 
close-grained,  and  sugary.  Leaves  not  large  or  nu- 


84  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

merous,  rather  erect,  green,  the  stems  and  ribs  paler, 
and  sometimes  yellowish. 

"  The  yellow  globe  is  one  of  the  most  productive  of 
all  the  varieties,  and  though  not  adapted  to  table  use, 
is  particularly  excellent  for  stock  of  all  descriptions, 
as  the  roots  are  not  only  remarkably  sugary,  but 
contain  a  considerable  portion  of  albumen.  It  retains 
its  soundness  and  freshness  till  the  season  has  far 
advanced,  does  not  sprout  so  early  in  spring  as  many 
others,  and  is  especially  adapted  for  cultivation  in 
hard,  shallow  soil. 

"  The  yield  varies  from  thirty  to  forty  tons  per  acre, 
according  to  soil,  season,  and  culture  ;  although  crops 
are  recorded  of  fifty  tons  and  upwards. 

"  On  account  of  its  globular  form  the  crop  can  be 
harvested  with  great  facility  by  the  use  of  a  common 
plough."  (J3urr.) 

MAGDEBURG. 

"  The  Magdeburg  beet  unites  most  of  the  qualities 
of  the  German  race  ;  its  root  is  tapering,  of  middling 
size,  with  few  accessory  or  lateral  roots,  and  grows 
entirely  beneath  the  surface,  is  white,  and  has  a  green 
neck.  Its  average  yield  is  twelve  to  fourteen  tons  per 
acre  in  land  where  the  white  French  sugar  beet  pro 
duces  sixteen  to  eighteen  tons. 

"  Experiments  have.shown  it  to  be  rich  in  sugar." 
(  Vtlmorin.) 

IMPROVED    VILMORIN. 

"  This  kind,  which  is  still  in  its  infancy,  is  the  richest 
of  all,  experiments  having  proved  that  it  contains  from 
sixteen  to  seventeen  per  cent,  of  saccharine  matter. 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  85 

"  The  neck  of  this  beet  is  very  large  ;  the  roots  are 
generally  irregular,  of  bad  shape,  and  have  many  ac 
cessory  roots  ;  harvesting  is  difficult,  especially  in  wet 
weather."  (  Vilmorin.) 

IMPERIAL. 

"  The  imperial  beet  is  a  native  of  Germany.  It  is 
said  to  contain  thirteen  and  one  half  per  cent  of  sugar. 
The  root,  which  is  carrot-shaped,  has  a  green  neck,  is 
very  long,  and  grows  entirely  beneath  the  surface." 
(  Vilmorin.) 

WHITE    SUGAR. 
White  Silesian.  —  Betterave  blanche. —  Vilmorin. 

"  Root  fusiform,  sixteen  inches  in  length,  six  or  seven 
inches  in  its  greatest  diameter,  contracted  towards  the 
crown,  thickest  just  below  the  surface  of  the  soil,  but 
nearly  retaining  its  size  for  half  the  depth,  and  thence 
tapering  regularly  to  a  point.  Skin  white,  washed 
with  green  or  rose-red  at  the  crown.  Flesh  white, 
crisp,  and  very  sugary.  Leaves  green  ;  the  leaf-stems 
clear  green,  or  green  stained  with  light  red,  according 
to  the  variety. 

"  The  white  sugar  beet  is  quite  extensively  grown  in 
this  country,  and  is  employed  almost  exclusively  as 
feed  for  stock,  although  the  young  roots  are  sweet, 
tender,  and  well  flavored,  and  in  all  respects  superior 
for  the  table  to  many  garden  varieties.  In  France  it 
is  largely  cultivated  for  the  manufacture  of  sugar,  and 
for  distillation. 

"  Of  the  two  sub-varieties,  some  cultivators  prefer 
the  green-top ;  others,  the  rose-colored  or  red-top. 


86  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

The  latter  is  the  larger,  more  productive,  and  tlu: 
better  keeper  ;  but  the  former  is  the  more  sugary.  It 
is,  however,  very  difficult  to  preserve  the  varieties  in 
a  pure  state,  much  of  the  seed  usually  sown  contain 
ing,  in  some  degree,  a  mixture  of  both. 

"  It  is  cultivated,  in  all  respects,  as  the  long  red 
mangel-wurzel,  and  the  yield,  per  acre,  varies  from 
twenty  to  thirty  tons."  {Burr.) 

Mauny  de  Mornay  says,  "  The  white  Silesian  beet 
is  generally  considered  the  best  for  the  sugar  manu 
facturer  :  it  grows  beneath  the  surface,  has  a  small 
green  neck,  the  stalks  of  the  leaves  are  greenish- 
white  ;  it  yields  less  juice,  but  of  a  richer  quality,  than 
most  other  kinds  ;  it  contains  salts  in  smaller  propor 
tions,  keeps  wrell,  and  resists  frost  better  than  others. 
It  has  the  preference  over  all  others  with  the  manu 
facturers  of  sugar." 

CHARACTERISTICS  OF  BEETS  FOR  SUGAR-MAKING. 

For  the  use  of  sugar  manufacturers  the  kind  of  beet 
that  can  be  cultivated  with  most  advantage  is  that 
which  is  richest  in  sugar,  and  contains  the  smallest 
amount  of  alkaline  salts.  It  is  distinguished  by  the 
following  characteristics :  — 

First.  Its  root  must  have  neither  the  form  of  a  car 
rot,  nor  of  a  tuber,  but  be  shaped  more  like  a  Bartlett 
pear.  It  must  be  long  and  slender,  gradually  tapering, 
and  free  from  large  lateral  roots. 

Second.  It  must  not  grow  above  the  surface  of  the 
soil. 

Third.  It  must  have  a  smooth  white  surface,  and 
the  flesh  be  white  and  hard. 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  87 

Fourth.  Its  size  must  not  be  too  large,  and  its 
weight  not  exceeding  five  to  eight  pounds. 

The  white  Silesian  beet,  which  is  the  one  in  general 
cultivation  for  manufacturers,  unites  most  of  these 
qualities  ;  and  of  other  kinds  those  are  most  preferred 
whose  foliage  is  not  upright,  but  broad-spreading  and 
lying  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  roots  of 
beets  possessing  this  peculiarity  grow  entirely  beneath 
the  surface. 

The  beet,  as  a  sugar-producing  plant,  is  for  the  tem 
perate  latitudes  what  the  cane  is  for  the  tropics  ;  but  be 
sides  its  saccharine  properties,  it  possesses  others  which 
render  it  even  a  greater  acquisition  to  the  human  race 
than  the  cane. 

It  flourishes  in  almost  any  good  soil ;  few  plants  are 
more  hardy  and  tenacious  of  life,  or  have  a  wider 
range  of  cultivation. 

It  succeeds  well  in  every  country  of  Europe,  from 
Jtaly  to  Norway,  and  from  Spain  to  Russia. 

In  the  United  States  it  has  been  successfully  culti 
vated  in  most  of  the  states  from  Missouri  to  Maine, 
and  would  doubtless  thrive  in  all.  It  is,  however,  a 
remarkable  fact,  that  while  the  cane  increases  in  saccha 
rine  richness  as  it  approaches  the  equator,  the  reverse 
is  the  case  with  the  beet,  which  up  to  a  certain  degree, 
north  or  south,  secretes  more  sugar  as  it  approaches 
the  poles. 

The  northern  limit  of  the  successful  culture  of  sugar 
beet  on  this  continent  is  probably  to  be  found  at  about 
latitude  50°  to  52°,  which  is  in  Canada.  In  Europe  it 
is  successfully  cultivated  as  far  north  as  60°. 


88  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

CHOICE  OF  SOIL. 

Although  most  countries  and  climates  permit  its 
culture,  there  is  of  course  a  choice  of  soil,  if  the  high 
est  development  of  saccharine  qualities  is  desired. 

The  root  of  the  beet  penetrates  deeply  into  the 
ground,  and  is  abundantly  supplied  with  fine  fibres, 
through  which  it  derives  its  nourishment. 

The  beet  dislikes  a  too  clayey,  tenacious  soil.  Rocky 
or  stony  land  must  also  be  avoided,  as  it  produces 
forked  and  misshapen  roots,  difficult  to  cleanse  and 
rasp. 

Soil  charged  with  mineral  salts  is  not  suitable ;  for 
sugar  beets  easily  absorb  its  saline  and  alkaline  ele 
ments,  which  are  obstacles  to  the  extraction  of  sugar. 

Marshy,  sw7ampy  lands,  and  those  in  proximity  to 
the  sea,  are  unfavorable  for  the  beet. 

Wet  lands  are  disadvantageous  ;  but  by  a  proper 
system  of  drainage,  cultivation,  and  manuring,  may 
be  rendered  suitable. 

The  beet  flourishes  best  in  deep,  rich,  loose,  per 
meable  soils,  suitable  for  grains. 

Light,  rich,  sandy  ground  furnishes  beets  dense, 
easy  of  preservation,  and  rich  in  sugar. 

Calcareous  soils  are  good,  and  the  argillo-calcare- 
ous  are  better  still. 

Ground  that  is  mellow,  warm,  and  fertile,  free  from 
saline  and  alkaline  constituents,  not  sour,  and  of  a 
nature  little  liable  to  suffer  from  drought,  easy  to 
work  late  in  autumn  and  early  in  spring,  with  a 
comparatively  permeable  subsoil,  penetrable  by  the 
tap-root  of  the  beet,  that  affords  natural  drainage,  so 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  89 

that  it  may  be  worked  soon  after  rains,  is  suitable 
for  the  crop  in  question. 

The  best  colors  for  the  soil  are  black  and  brown, 
provided  the  color  is  from  vegetable  mould,  and  not 
due  to  metallic  elements. 

A  black  soil  warms  more  readily,  and  retains  heat 
better,  than  that  of  any  other  color.  This  is  favor 
able  to  the  early  development  of  the  beet  in  the 
spring,  which  is  important,  as  it  tends  to  put  the 
plant  beyond  the  reach  of  summer  drought,  its  long 
root  penetrating  deep  enough  into  the  earth  to  obtain 
the  necessary  supply  of  moisture.  The  "black  soil" 
of  Russia,  which  corresponds  with  much  of  our 
western  land,  is  said  by  Professor  Witt,  of  Munich, 
to  be  acknowledged  the  best  in  Europe  for  the  sugar 
beet. 

Count  Chaptal,  a  great  cultivator,  as  well  as  sugar 
manufacturer,  says,  "  All  grain-fields  are  more  or 
less  suitable  for  beets,  but  especially  those  having  a 
depth  of  twelve  or  fifteen  inches  of  rich  vegetable 
mould.  Fine,  sandy,  alluvial  bottom  lands,  over 
flowed  in  winter  or  early  spring,  are  favorable  for 
the  beet,  and  they  need  no  artificial  manure,  as  they 
are  enriched  by  the  inundations.  Beets  require  to  be 
planted  on  thoroughly  cultivated  land  in  which  the 
sods  are  entirely  rotted." 

He  was  often  compelled  to  sow  a  crop  of  oats  on 
land  newly  broken  up  before  he  planted  the  beet,  of 
which  afterwards  he  often  got  two  excellent  successive 
crops. 

When  the  soil  was  very  light  and  deep  he  some 
times  succeeded  in  getting  a  good  crop  on  pasture 


90  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

land  broken  up  in  the  fall,  and  planted  with  beets 
six  months  later ;  but  lands  in  English  grass,  which 
were  ploughed,  and  planted  with  beets,  never  produced 
a  good  crop  the  first  year.  It  wTas  always  better  the 
second  year. 

By  intelligent,  scientific,  and  well-directed  labor 
almost  any  soil  can  be  made  suitable  for  the  beet ;  but 
it  is  to  be  considered  whether,  in  an  economical  point 
of  view,  it  is  judicious  to  force  the  culture  of  a  plant 
upon  a  soil  naturally  unsuited  to  it.  Heavy  expenses 
will  diminish  if  they  do  not  entirely  absorb  the  prof 
its,  even  on  large  crops.  This  consideration  is  espe 
cially  entitled  to  weight  in  the  cultivation  of  sugar 
beets,  for  which  it  is  best  to  select  what  is  called  in 
Europe  a  "  natural  beet  ground." 

A  clayey,  sandy  subsoil,  which  retains  moisture  and 
the  liquid  manures,  or  a  subsoil  of  marl,  is  favorable. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  subsoil  of  gravel  is  unfavorable  ; 
so  also  is  a  subsoil  of  sand,  unless  the  deposit  of  loam 
above  it  is  at  least  two  feet  deep. 

Drought  in  the  season  of  early  vegetation  is  perni 
cious,  but  after  the  plant  gets  well  established  it  will 
bear  extended  dry  weather.  Too  much  rain,  later  in 
the  season,  increases  the  weight  of  the  crop  at  the 
expense  of  sugar  ;  or  rather  it  diminishes  the  percent 
age  of  saccharine  matter,  the  same  amount  existing, 
but  in  a  less  concentrated  form.  The  beets  are  more 
watery,  and  consequently  of  less  value  for  making 
sugar.  Too  much  rain  early  in  the  season,  when 
the  plant  needs  warmth,  is  disadvantageous,  and  re 
tards  its  growth. 

M.  Michael,  in  the  "Journal  de  Chimie  pratique," 
says,— 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  9! 

"  I.  The  formation  of  cane  sugar  in  beets  is  only 
favored  by  the  proper  concurrence  of  warmth  and 
rain. 

"  2.   Continued  drought  induces  acid  juices. 

"3.  The  juices,  during  the  period  of  storage  in  the 
silos  (pits),  are  converted  into  grape  sugar,  which  is 
uncrystallizable. 

"4.  Beets  in  the  year  1859  (a  very  dry  season) 
heated  in  the  silos,  and  rotted  sooner  than  those  of  the 
preceding  year.  This  was  the  result  of  the  drought 
and  consequent  formation  of  acid  juices." 

J.  J.  Fiihling,  a  great  Prussian  cultivator,  says,  — 

"  My  observations  and  inquiries  satisfy  me  that  in 
a  climate  warm  and  moist  in  summer,  most  lands  are 
adapted  to  the  beet  ;  that  in  a  climate  where  the 
summers  are  very  hot  and  dry,  a  strong  and  retentive 
soil  is  required  ;  and  where  they  are  colder  and  more 
humid,  fields  light  and  permeable  produce  better  re 
sults  for  the  cultivator. 

"  After  planting  is  done,  warm  and  moist  weather 
in  May  and  June  favor  the  early  development  of  the 
plant,  which  gives  earnest  of  a  good  crop. 

"  With  July  and  early  August  dry  and  warm,  the 
production  of  good  seed  is  probable. 

"  Continued  and  abundant  rains  in  July  and  August 
insure  a  heavy  crop.  September  dry  produces  beets 
rich  in  sugar  ;  but  September  wet  makes  them  watery, 
and  comparatively  poor  in  saccharine  matter,  —  not 
because  the  beets  secrete  their  sugar  in  that  month, 
but  because  with  dry  weather  the  beet  ripens  and  its 
leaves  begin  to  wither,  while  with  continued  rain  the 
plant  is  stimulated  to  produce  a  second  crop  of  leaves 
at  the  expense  of  the  sugar  contained  in  the  root. 


92  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

"  The  three  principal  periods  of  vegetation  in  the 
growth  of  the  beet  are  marked  by  the  successive  for 
mation  of  the  leaves,  the  root,  and  the  seeds. 

"  The  first  of  these  periods  extends  to  July,  during 
which  time  the  leaves  are  rapidly  developed,  while 
there  is  but  little  increase  in  the  size  of  the  roots. 
The  beet  then  remains  in  a  state  of  comparative  re 
pose." 

From  the  middle  of  July  to  the  latter  part  of  Au 
gust  the  root  increases  rapidly  in  size. 

Seed  ripens  in  August. 

From  August  to  the  middle  of  September,  and 
sometimes  until  the  i5th  of  October,  the  beet  still 
grows,  but  increases  more  rapidly  in  weight  than  in 
size. 

METHOD  OF  CULTIVATING  THE  SUGAR  BEET  *  FOR 
THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  SUGAR. 

Having  selected  a  suitable  piece  of  ground  that  is 
already  in  cultivation,  it  should  be  thoroughly  ma 
nured  in  the  fall,  the  manure  ploughed  in  to  a  depth 
of  six  or  seven  inches,  and  completely  covered,  taking 
particular  care  that  the  land  is  dry,  for  working  wet 
land  always  develops  in  it  gummy  and  sticky  proper 
ties  that  subsequently  interfere  with  easy  cultivation. 
This  superficial  ploughing  should  be  followed  by  a  sec 
ond,  as  deep  as  possible.  A  double  Michigan  plough 
would  probably  perform  the  work  with  a  single  oper- 

*  The  instructions  here  given  are  exclusively  for  the  cultivation 
of  beets  destined  to  be  manufactured  into  sugar.  The  cultivation 
of  forage  beets  for  feeding  stock  is  quite  different,  particularly  in 
relation  to  the  distances  at  which  the  plants  should  stand  apart. 


CULTIVATION   OF    THE    BEET.  93 

ation.  The  depth  of  the  furrow  should  not  be  less 
than  twelve  inches,  and  if  deeper,  so  much  the  better ; 
for  the  root  of  the  sugar  beet  requires  a  deep,  rich 
bed,  in  which  it  can  develop  itself  entirely  beneath 
the  surface  of  the  soil.  The  part  that  grows  .above 
the  ground  contains  no  sugar,  and  if  it  rises  much, 
is  always  cut  off  at  the  time  of  harvest,  that  course 
being  mutually  agreed  upon  in  Europe  by  the  manu 
facturer  and  cultivator.* 

If  the  soil  is  ploughed  to  a  sufficient  depth,  the  root 
of  the  beet  will  not  rise  above  the  ground.  The 
farmer  consequently  not  only  gets  a  larger  crop,  and 
of  better  quality,  but  the  whole  of  it  is  marketable. 
Whereas  if  the  ground  is  not  properly  ploughed,  the 
beets  rise,  the  part  above  ground  is  cut  off,  and  is  only 
used  for  feeding  stock. 

Deep  ploughing  therefore  is  of  the  greatest  impor 
tance,  not  only  for  the  beet,  but  also,  as  every  farmer 
knows,  for  succeeding  crops.  It  renders  the  soil  mel- 

*  The  portion  of  the  root  that  grows  out  of  the  ground  contains 
little  or  no  sugar,  but  is  rich  in  salts  ;  therefore  there  is  not  only 
no  good  derived  by  the  manufacturer  from  this  exposed  part,  but 
a  positive  evil ;  for  besides  lessening  the  percentage  of  sugar  con 
tained  in  the  whole  root,  the  presence  of  the  salts  in  the  neck  les 
sens  still  farther  the  percentage  that  can  be  extracted.  This  is  so 
well  understood,  that  in  Germany,  where  women  and  children  can 
be  hired  at  ten  or  fifteen  cents  a  day,  they  are  employed  in  the  fac 
tories  to  cut  off  from  the  beets,  before  they  are  rasped,  every  part 
of  the  crown  and  neck  that  grew  above  the  surface  of  the  soil. 
The  portion  thus  cut  off  is  fed  to  cattle.  In  France,  where  labor 
is  higher,  this  custom  does  not  prevail ;  but  if  the  beets  grow 
much  above  the  surface,  the  necks  are  cut  off  at  the  time  of  har 
vest. 


94  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

lower  by  more  thoroughly  exposing  it  to  the  action 
of  the  frosts.  This  is  considered  so  important  in 
Europe  that  the  plough  is  often  followed  by  laborers, 
who,  with  a  spade,  take  out  the  earth  from  the  bed 
of  the  furrow  and  lay  it  on  the  slice.  Our  subsoil 
plough  would  do  that  work  cheaper  and  better. 

If,  after  the  fall  ploughings,  any  weeds  make  their 
appearance  before  winter  sets  in,  it  is  a  good  plan  to 
pass  over  the  field  twice  with  a  harrow,  running  the 
second  time  across  the  track  of  the  first  harrowing. 

In  Europe  farmers  use  what  they  call  an  "  extir- 
pateur,"  which  is  an  instrument  writh  teeth  sharp  and 
strong,  and  about  fourteen  inches  long,  shaped  like 
those  of  a  cultivator.  It  differs  from  our  "  extirpator." 
It  is  used  upon  the  stubble  in  the  autumn,  immedi 
ately  after  the  grains  are  harvested,  to  extirpate  the 
weeds,  and  is  a  very  serviceable  instrument.  They 
usually  pass  twice  over  the  fields  with  it,  making  the 
second  track  across  the  first.  It  is  mounted  on  wheels, 
is  of  various  sizes,  and  is  drawn  by  two,  three,  or  four 
horses. 

If  the  land  is  so  mellow  as  not  to  require  a  deep 
ploughing  in  the  fall,  manure  is  put  upon  the  field, 
and  the  extirpator  is  passed  two  or  three  times  over 
it.  The  land  is  then  thoroughly  cross-harrowed,  and 
left  until  spring,  when  the  treatment  is  the  same  as 
if  it  had  been  subjected  to  deep  ploughing. 

As  soon  as  the  ground  is  sufficiently  warm  and  dry 
in  the  spring,  it  should  be  ploughed  again,  across  the 
furrows  of  the  preceding  fall,  to  a  depth  of  about 
eight  inches,  and  again  thoroughly  cross-harrowed. 
If  the  nature  of  the  land  is  wet,  or  if  the  upper  soil 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET.  95 

is  thin,  it  is  sometimes  thrown  into  ridges  or  beds  in 
Europe.  This  method,  the  culture  "  en  billon,"  finds 
many  advocates  even  among  those  possessing  lands 
of  the  deepest  and  most  suitable  soil.  In  case  this 
method  is  adopted,  only  half  the  manure  allotted  to 
the  field  is  used  in  the  fall,  and  the  rest  is  applied  in 
the  spring.  The  following  is  the  method  adopted  :  — 

The  portion  of  manure  that  is  to  be  used  in  the 
fall  is  spread  upon  the  land,  ploughed  in,  and  the 
field  left  in  furrow  through  the  winter.  In  the  spring 
the  field  is  worked  up  with  the  plough  into  ridges  or 
"  billons,"  between  eighteen  and  twenty  inches  apart. 

The  remainder  of  the  manure  is  applied,  taking 
care  to  have  it  placed  well  at  the  bottom  of  the  fur 
rows.  The  ridges  are  then  split  with  a  plough,  the 
manure  in  the  furrows  covered,  and  new  ridges  formed, 
which  are  then  levelled  with  a  light  roller,  and  the 
seed  sown  in  the  usual  manner,  in  the  centre,  directly 
over  the  manure. 

Beets  cultivated  in  this  way  are  more  apt  to  be 
forked  than  those  raised  by  other  methods. 

The  yellow  globe  ("jaune  globe")  is  for  that  rea 
son  generally  used  in  this  culture,  as  its  habit  is  to 
produce  smooth  and  well-shaped  roots.  The  advo 
cates  of  this  mode  of  culture  claim  that  it  produces 
larger  crops,  and  is^  safer  from  the  effects  of  drought 
than  any  other  ;  but  in  my  judgment  the  method  is  of 
doubtful  expediency. 

If  the  culture  "  en  billon  "  is  not  adopted,  then, 
after  the  spring  ploughing  and  harrowing,  the  field 
is  again  gone  over  with  the  harrow  turned  upside 
down.  This  treatment  serves  better  than  rolling  to 


96  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

smooth  and  pulverize  the  soil,  and  leaves  it  in  admi 
rable  condition  for  the  succeeding  operations  of  sow 
ing.  All  stones  and  clods  that  would  interfere  with 
the  successful  working  of  the  seed-sower  should  be 
removed. 

SOWING  THE  SEED. 

The  proper  time  to  commence  sowing  is  in  the 
latter  part  of  April,  or  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  in 
a  fit  state,  being  warm  and  dry,  but  at  the  same  time 
sufficiently  humid  to  promote  rapid  germination,  and 
not  so  wet  as  to  induce  crustation  or  baking  of  the 
surface.  Some  European  cultivators  say  that  it  should 
be  done  when  the  moon  is  on  the  increase. 

Sowing  in  Europe  is  done  both  by  hand  and  by 
machines ;  but  as  the  price  of  labor  in  this  country 
forbids  the  use  of  the  former  method,  I  shall  give  no 
description  of  it,  although  it  is  done  by  women  and 
children  very  rapidly,  and  certainly  possesses  many 
advantages  in  countries  where  labor  is  low.  I  shall 
not  describe  either  the  method  of  transplanting  the 
beet  which  prevails  extensively  in  Germany,  for  labor 
is  too  high  here  to  warrant  the  practice.  Nor  shall 
I  give  any  description  of  the  seed-sowers  in  use  in 
Europe,  because  we  have  better  ones  in  this  coun 
try.  I  shall  assume  that  machines  will  be  used  that 
sow  several  ranges  or  rows  at  a  time. 

The  irregularity  in  size  and  shape  of  beet  seed  ren 
ders  it  necessary  to  subject  it  to  certain  treatment  in 
order  to  facilitate  the  operation  of  sowing,  and  to  pre 
vent  the  clogging  of  the  machine,  the  result  of  which 
would  be  to  leave  long  spaces  in  the  lines  without  any 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET  97 

seed.  This  preliminary  treatment  also  facilitates  its 
germination,  and  in  a  measure  guards  it  against  de 
struction  by  insects. 

The  seed  should  be  passed  through  a  screen  with 
meshes  sufficiently  fine  to  retain  all  that  would  not 
pass  easily  through  the  gauge  that  regulates  the  pas 
sage  of  seed  in  the  machine. 

The  seed  which  do  not  pass  must  be  rubbed  between 
two  boards,  and  partially  crushed,  in  order  to  reduce 
those  which  are  large  and  irregularly  formed  to  a  size 
that  permits  their  easy  transmission  through  the  screen. 
After  all  the  seed  are  by  rubbing  rendered  sufficiently 
small  to  offer  no  obstruction  to  their  easy  sowing,  they 
are  steeped  in  the  following  solution  :  — 

Dissolve  nine  ounces  of  sulphate  of  potash  and  an 
equal  quantity  of  sulphate  of  lime  in  from  four  to  five 
quarts  of  warm  water.  After  this  add  five  or  six  gal 
lons  of  cold  water.  Of  this  solution  use  a  sufficient 
quantity  to  cover  the  seed. 

After  having  steeped  for  five  or  six  hours,  the  liquid 
is  drained  off,  and  the  seed  are  dried  by  putting  them 
into  a  vessel  either  with  wood  ashes,  slaked  lime, 
ground  plaster  of  Paris,  or  thoroughly  pulverized 
guano,  and  mixing  them  together,  so  that  each  seed 
may  be  in  a  degree  coated  with  the  material  employed. 
They  are  then  spread  until  sufficiently  dry  to  work 
readily  in  the  machine.  The  machine  should  be  set 
so  as  to  sow  the  seed  from  one  and  a  half  to  two 
inches  deep,  and  in  lines  sixteen  to  eighteen  inches 
apart,  although  some  farmers  make  their  rows  four 
teen  and  others  twenty  inches  apart.* 

*  Beets  planted  a  foot  apart  will  produce  about  four  tons  more 

5 


98  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

The  amount  of  seed  required  for  an  acre  varies,  of 
course,  in  accordance  with  the  number  of  rows  and 
the  perfection  of  the  seed-sower.  It  is  certainly  best 
to  sow  enough,  for  in  seed-sowing  apparent  prodi 
gality  is  often  the  truest  economy,  it  being  less  costly 
to  pull  out  superabundant  plants  than  to  sow  a  second 
time. 

The  farmer  should  bear  in  mind  that  the  plants 
must  finally  stand  from  twelve  to  fourteen  inches  apart 
in  the  row.  Knowing  this,  and  the  capacity  of  his 
machine,  he  can  arrive  at  a  pretty  correct  estimate  of 
the  amount  of  seed  required. 

In  France  the  farmers  employ  from  nine  to  thirteen 
pounds  on  an  acre. 

Too  much  pains  cannot  be  taken  to  have  the  lines 
perfectly  straight,  and  each  passage  of  the  machine 
over  the  field  exactly  parallel  to  the  preceding  one. 
"  Marking,"  before  the  passage  of  the  seed-sower, 
should  be  done  writh  the  very  greatest  care  and  exact 
ness.  This  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  every  sub 
sequent  stage  of  cultivation,  and  cannot  be  too  strongly 
urged.  For  economical  cultivation  it  is  indispensa 
ble.  This  is  attained  in  Europe,  and  the  lines  are  per 
fect  miracles  of  straightness. 

A  strip  of  land  sufficiently  wide  for  the  various  ma 
chines  and  their  teams  to  turn  on  should  be  left  at  each 
end  of  the  field.  In  this  country,  where  land  is  cheap, 

per  acre  than  if  planted  at  a  distance  of  eighteen  inches  ;  they  will 
also  be  from  half  to  one  per  cent,  richer  in  sugar.  But  the  lesser 
distance  is  not  so  well  adapted  to  cheap  culture,  and  the  usual 
method  is  to  have  the  rows  sixteen  to  eighteen  inches  apart,  and 
the  plants  twelve  to  fourteen  inches  apart  in  the  rows. 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  99 

it  can  be  afforded,  and  in  beet  culture  it  will  be  found 
economical  and  convenient. 

As  soon  as  the  seed  are  sown  the  ground  should  be 
rolled.  This  hastens  germination.  The  best  roller  is 
a  cast-iron  one,  in  joints  or  sections.  The  roller  should 
follow  the  lines  made  by  the  seed-sower  as  exactly  as 
is  possible. 

The  beet  generally  makes  its  appearance  in  about 
ten  days  after  the  seed  is  sown  ;  but  the  time  varies  in 
accordance  with  the  nature  and  condition  of  the  soil 
and  of  the  season.  If  the  plant  does  not  "  show"  in 
the  usual  time,  seed  must  be  examined  in  several 
different  parts  of  the  field,  and  if  found  generally  to  be 
alive,  more  time  must  be  allowed  for  its  germination. 
But  if  it  be  found  that  there  is  here  and  there  a  strong 
plant,  while  the  rest  come  up  irregularly,  and  exami 
nation  of  the  seed  in  the  vacant  places  proves  them  to 
be  rotten,  then  it  is  to  be  considered, 

1.  Are  there  plants  enough  to  give  a  fair  crop? 

2.  Is  the  field  in  condition  to  allow  seed  to  be  sown 
in  the  vacant  places  ? 

3.  Is  there  yet  time  to  re-sow  the  whole  piece? 

WEEDING. 

As  soon  as  the  plants  are  up,  if  weeds  begin  to  ap 
pear,  no  time  should  be  lost  in  setting  the  cultivator 
in  motion  to  destroy  them,  and  to  stir  the  ground 
between  the  rows. 

In  Europe  machines  particularly  designed  for  this 
purpose,  as  well  as  for  other  of  the  various  require 
ments  of  this  special  culture,  are  in  partial  use.  They 
will  soon  be  brought  here,  and  probably  be  improved 


100  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

upon  by  our  skilful  mechanics.  But  there  are  al 
ready  cultivators  in  the  west,  that,  with  trifling  mod 
ifications,  would  perform  the  required  work  admi 
rably. 

If  the  weeds  should  show  thickly  before  the  beet  is 
up,  and  the  lines  made  by  the  seed-sower  are  plainly 
visible,  the  cultivator  may  commence  at  once,  for  it  is 
absolutely  necessary,  if  good  returns  of  beets,  and  also 
subsequent  crops,  are  desired,  that  the  fields  should  be 
kept  entirely  free  from  weeds. 

In  many  parts  of  Europe  the  farmer  not  only  runs 
his  cultivator  (u  rasette  a  cheval ")  between  the  rows, 
but  also  across  them,  leaving  his  plants  at  the  corners 
of  squares  eighteen  inches  apart  each  way,  thus  doing 
almost  all  his  work  with  a  horse  cultivator.  This 
implement  sometimes  operates  on  one,  but  oftener  on 
three  lines  at  once,  and  is  drawn  by  a  small  horse, 
which  is  led  by  a  boy. 

The  cultivator  for  one  line  does  better  work,  but  at 
a  higher  cost,  than  the  three-line  machine.  There  are 
two-horse  cultivators  in  use,  but  it  is  difficult  to  em 
ploy  a  span  of  horses  without  injuring  the  crop. 
Many  of  these  machines  have  a  device  attached  that 
raises  the  leaves  from  the  ground,  and  prevents  their 
being  injured.  Others,  also,  have  an  attachment  that 
"earths-up"  the  beet.  The  cost  of  these  machines 
varies  from  five  to  thirty  dollars.  The  one-horse  ma 
chine,  managed  by  a  boy,  will  cultivate  from  three  to 
four  acres  a  day. 

The  use  of  the  horse-cultivator  across  the  lines  is 
not  recommended,  as  it  leaves  the  plants  too  far  apart 
in  the  lines.  In  some  cases  the  hand  hoe  ("  rasette  a 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  IOI 

main  ")  is  used  for  both  operations,  and  oftener  still  for 
cultivating  across  the  lines.  The  "  rasette  a  main  "  is 
mounted  on  low  wheels,  and  is  a  species  of  thrust  hoe 
and  cultivator  combined.  The  cultivator  should  not 
be  run  very  deep  upon  its  first  passage,  for  fear  of  dis 
turbing  or  covering  the  young  plants. 

In  case  the  field  is  not  cultivated  across  the  lines 
either  by  the  horse  or  hand  rasette,  it  is  necessary,  as 
soon  as  cultivation  between  the  lines  has  taken  place, 
to  thin  out  the  beets,  leaving  single  plants  standing, 
from  twelve  to  fourteen  inches  apart  in  the  rows.* 
This  can  be  done  best  when  the  ground  is  moist. 

The  ground  should  afterwards  be  loosened  about 
the  plant  with  a  sharp,  short-handled  hoe,  four  or  five 
inches  in  width,  leaving  the  earth  light  and  easily  ac 
cessible  to  the  fertilizing  influences  of  the  atmosphere. 

In  case  there  are  vacant  spaces  in  the  lines,  enough 
plants  should  be  left  in  adjoining  rows  to  furnish  the 
means  of  filling  the  spaces  by  transplanting  as  soon 
as  the  beets  are  sufficiently  large,  which  will  generally 
be  at  the  time  of  the  second  weeding. 

Vacant  spaces  in  the  lines  should  be  filled  by  trans 
planting.  This  can  be  done  best  when  the  beets  are 
about  one  half  or  three  fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 
A  moist  day  should  be  selected,  and  the  plants  taken 
up  with  a  spade,  or,  better,  with  a  transplanting  trowel, 
from  those  lines  where  thinning  is  required,  and 

*  In  thinning,  particularly  in  dry  weather,  take  a  flat  wooden 
knife  with  which  to  separate  the  plants  and  hold  down  the  earth, 
while  the  beet  to  be  removed  is  pulled  up.  If  the  earth  is  too  dry 
to  remove  the  plant  easily,  use  a  steel  "  dibble,"  with  which  the 
beet  can  be  destroyed. 


IO2  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

carried  in  a  wooden  tray  to  the  spot  where  they  are 
needed. 

Pains  should  be  taken  to  injure  the  beet  as  little  as 
possible,  and  in  replanting  them  to  have  the  root  kept 
straight,  otherwise  the  matured  plant  will  produce 
forked  and  misshapen  roots. 

Holes  about  five  inches  deep  should  be  made  at 
proper  intervals  for  the  reception  of  the  plant,  with  a 
plug  of  hard  wood,  eight  inches  in  length  and  an  inch 
in  diameter  at  one  end,  tapering  gradually  to  the 
diameter  of  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  when  the  end  should 
be  rounded  oft". 

One  careful  workman  should  take  up  the  beets  and 
carry  them  to  another,  who  will  set  them  out.  The 
latter  workman  takes  a  plant  by  the  leaves  with  his 
left  hand,  and  makes  a  perpendicular  hole  with  the 
plug  held  in  his  right  hand  ;  he  then  withdraws  the 
plug  from  the  ground,  and  carefully  inserts  the  plant 
in  the  hole,  taking  pains  to  keep  the  root  perfectly 
straight.  He  holds  it  by  the  left  hand,  keeping  the 
crown  of  the  plant  on  a  level  with  the  surface  of  the 
ground ;  he  then  plunges  the  plug  perpendicularly 
two  or  three  times  into  the  ground  within  an  inch  of 
the  root,  and  crowds  the  earth  against  the  root  with 
the  plug.  He  then  places  a  little  earth  about  the 
plant,  and  with  both  hands  presses  and  settles  the  soil 
about  the  root.  The  earth  is  then  dressed  with  the 
fingers  about  the  plant,  taking  pains  to  leave  the 
crown  just  even  with  the  surface. 

The  long  leaves  are  then  pinched  off,  and  the  oper 
ations  are  completed. 

The  first  workman  should  have  a  tray  in  which  to 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET.  103 

carry  the  plants  he  takes  up.  The  second  should  also 
have  one  for  the  convenience  of  transporting  the 
plants  along  the  line.  These  trays  should  be  two  feet 
long  and  one  foot  wide,  with  rims  three  inches  high 
on  each  side  and  on  one  end,  with  holes  in  the  middle 
of  the  side  rims  to  admit  the  fingers.  One  end  is  left 
open,  so  that  the  first  workman  can,  with  little  injury 
to  the  plants,  slide  them  from  his  tray  into  that  of  the 
second. 

Transplanting  may  also  be  done  when  the  plants 
are  much  larger,  in  which  case  it  may  be  necessary  to 
make  the  hole  with  the  spade.  In  that  case  one  work 
man  thrusts  his  spade  perpendicularly  into  the  ground 
to  a  depth  sufficient  for  the  length  of  the  root,  and  by 
a  motion  of  his  spade  pries  the  ground  to  one  side ; 
another  workman  then  inserts  the  root,  holding  it  in 
its  proper  position  ;  the  first  workman  then  withdraws 
his  spade,  and  presses  the  earth  against  the  plant  with 
his  foot.  It  is  far  better,  however,  to  transplant  when 
the  beets  are  small. 

There  is  also  an  instrument  for  transplanting,  called 
a  "  deplantoir,"  in  use  in  France,  that  moves  the 
plant  without  retarding  its  growth  in  the  least.  It 
does  the  work  perfectly  in  every  respect,  except  that 
it  does  not  do  it  expeditiously. 

If  the  "  spacing"  of  the  plants  is  done  by  the  pas 
sage  of  the  cultivator  across  the  lines,  then  the  work 
men  must  with  their  hands,  or  with  the  short  hoe, 
loosen  the  earth  about  each  plant,  leaving  but  a  single 
one  standing  at  the  corner  of  each  square. 

All  weeds  should  be  pulled  up  and  left  upon  the 
surface  between  the  rows,  but  not  in  piles,  for  they 


IO4  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

would  obstruct  the  subsequent  passage  of  the  cultiva 
tor  ;  whereas  if  they  are  spread,  the  cultivator  will  pass 
over  them,  and  leave  the  intervals  between  the  rows 
perfectly  clean  and  smooth. 

As  soon  after  the  first  weeding  as  the  ground  be 
comes  "baked"  or  "crusted,"  or  as  soon  as  the 
weeds  again  make  their  appearance,  a  second  and 
deeper  cultivation,  and  also  a  thorough  weeding,  should 
take  place.  The  ground  should  at  all  times  be  kept 
pulverized,  loose,  open,  and  always  entirely  free  from 
weeds.  For  this  reason,  as  well  as  that  the  extirpated 
weeds  may  die  more  speedily,  it  is  highly  important 
that  the  weeding  and  cultivation  should  be  done  not 
only  when  the  weather  is  hot,  for  then  weeds  are  more 
easily  killed,  but  also  when  the  ground  is  dry,  for  it  is 
at  that  time  less  likely  to  form  a  crust. 

The  only  operations  in  beet  culture  suitable  for  wet  J 
weather  are  thinning  and  transplanting.     Some  hand 
labor  is  necessary,  and  frequent  hoeings  that  break  up 
the  incrusted  soil  are  of  great  benefit.     Care  should 
be  taken  to  keep  the  hoes  sharp,  in  order  the  more 
easily  to  cut  off  the  weeds.     There  is  a   proverb  in  \ 
Germany  that  "  the  hoe  is  the  gold  of  the  beet."  J 

The  number  of  times  that  the  beet  should  be  weeded 
and  cultivated  is  determined  by  the  condition  of  the 
surface  soil,  and  the  existence  of  weeds.     The  weeds  \ 
must  be  kept  down,  and  the  soil  must  be  kept  loose.  / 
Three  weedings  often  suffice  ;  if  no  more  are  required, 
so  much  the  better.     If  six  are  needed,  they  must  be 
given.     The  value  of  the   crop  demands  this,  and  it 
must  be  done,  and  well  done.     The  better  it  is  done 
the  first  time,  the  less  there  will  be  necessary  to  do 
afterwards. 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  105 

As  soon  as  the  plants  take  such  full  possession  of 
the  soil,  that  hoeing  or  cultivating  cannot  be  done 
without  damage  to  the  leaves,  then  those  operations 
must  cease,  for  it  is  of  great  importance  to  preserve 
the  foliage  from  injury.  This  will  generally  be  the 
case  early  in  July.  The  luxuriant  growth  of  the  plant 
then  stifles  the  weeds,  and,  shading  the  ground,  pre 
vents  its  incrustation.  The  only  care  required  after 
that  time  until  harvest  is  to  pull  up  such  weeds  as 
may  have  accidentally  escaped  the  watchful  eye  of 
the  farmer,  and  to  cut  off  the  flower-stalks  of  the  few 
beets  that  give  indications  of  producing  seed.* 

Both  these  operations  must  be  strictly  attended  to, 
for  the  weed  not  only  withdraws  nourishment  from 
the  beet,  but  if  permitted  to  mature,  scatters  seed  that 
increase  the  farmer's  subsequent  labor ;  while  the 
root  of  the  beet  that  is  permitted  to  "  go  to  seed"  con 
tains  not  a  particle  of  sugar. 

It  is  a  common  but  not  universal  practice  in  Europe 
to  "  hill,"  or  to  "  earth  up,"  the  beet,  and  the  method 
finds  many  advocates.  The  operation  is  performed 
principally  with  a  species  of  small  double  mould-board 
plough,  and  is  finished  wr'ith  the  hoe.  It  is  generally 
done  between  the  second  and  third  weedings.  The 
practice  seems  to  be  a  reasonable  one,  as  it  tends  not 
only  to  make  the  soil  light,  and  thus  promotes  the 
growth  of  the  beet,  but  also  causes  its  development 
beneath  the  soil,  thus  lessening  the  amount  to  be  cut 
off  of  the  neck  at  the  time  of  harvest.  Beets  that  have 

*  If  the  beet  shows  a  tendency  to  go  to  seed  while  it  is  yet  small, 
it  should  be  pulled  up  ;  but  if  it  is  large,  the  flower-stalk  should  be 
cut  off. 

5* 


IO6  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

a  tendency  to  grow  out  of  the  ground   are  improved 
in  quality  by  earthing  them  up  in  July. 

HARVESTING  THE  BEET. 

The  maturity  of  the  beet  is  marked  by  unmistaka 
ble  signs.  The  leaves  of  the  plants,  instead  of  look 
ing  green,  thrifty,  and  vigorous,  begin  to  assume  a 
yellowish  tinge,  to  wither  and  drop  off.  This  period 
varies  with  the  climate,  the  season,  and  also  with  the 
method  of  cultivating  and  of  manuring.  These  indi 
cations  are  signals  of  the  coming  harvest,  and  the 
field  must  thenceforward  be  narrowly  watched,  calcu 
lation  being  made  as  to  how  much  time  will  probably 
elapse  before  frost  sets  in  ;  also  as  to  the  force  attain 
able  for  harvesting  the  crop,  and  also  as  to  the  prob 
ability  of  rain.  It  is  important  that  beets  should  be 
harvested  before  heavy  frost,  although  they  will,  before 
being  dug,  bear  a  temperature  of  22°  to  24°  without 
injury.  Beets  that  are  frozen  should  be  left  for  eight 
or  ten  days  before  being  dug,  in  which  case  they  often 
recover  from  the  effect  of  the  frost ;  if  they  could  be 
left  longer,  it  would  be  still  better.  After  being  dug, 
the  beet  will  bear  a  temperature  of  28°  without  detri 
ment.  Heavy  rains,  after  the  foliage  has  withered 
and  fallen,  stimulate  the  production  of  new  leaves  at 
the  expense  of  the  sugar  in  the  beet.  This  should  be 
counteracted  by  harvesting  the  crop  as  speedily  as 
possible  ;  but  the  longer  the  beet  stays  in  the  ground 
without  the  risk  of  freezing  or  producing  new  leaves, 
the  better  for  the  manufacturer,  and  of  course  for  the 
farmer,  for  their  interests  are  identical. 

Beets  are  generally  ripe  in  France  the  last  of  Sep- 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  107 

tcmber  or  first  of  October.  In  Illinois,  by  reason  of 
the  heat  of  our  summers  being  more  intense,  they 
would  ripen  early  in  September.  This  is  a  great 
advantage  to  the  manufacturer,  as  he  can  begin  to 
work  nearly  a  month  sooner  than  is  done  in  Europe, 
and  operate  upon  ripe  beets  ;  while  in  Europe,  the 
manufacturer,  if  he  has  a  large  crop  to  consume,  be 
gins  in  September,  but  has  unripe  beets,  that  do  not 
contain  their  full  proportion  of  sugar. 

If  a  portion  of  the  beets  are  to  be  taken  at  once  to 
the  factory,  and  the  rest  kept  in  pits  for  future  work 
ing,  then  those  that  are  ripest  should  be  selected  for 
the  pits,  and  of  the  remainder  the  ripest  should  be 
first  dug  for  immediate  use  at  the  factory.  If  the 
beets  are  all  to  be  put  into  pits,  then  the  least  ripe, 
and  also  those  grown  on  the  richest  ground,  should 
be  kept  separate,  and  delivered  first  to  the  mill  when 
they  are  required.  The  reasons  for  these  rules  are, 
that  ripe  beets  keep  better  than  unripe  ones,  and 
that  beets  grown  on  rich  ground  are  more  watery,  and 
consequently  do  not  keep  so  well  as  those  grown  on 
poorer  soil. 

Beets  may  be  dug  with  a  spade,  fork,  or  common 
plough.  They  are  generally  taken  from  the  ground 
in  Europe  with  what  is  called  an  "  arracheur,"  which 
is  a  sort  of  plough  with  a  share  shaped  like  a  cone, 
the  section  of  which  is  an  oval  somewhat  flattened  on 
the  lower  side,  about  three  feet  in  length,  seven  or 
eight  inches  in  diameter,  and  tapering  to  a  blunted 
point.  It  is  drawn  by  two  horses,  and  will  dig  from 
one  and  a  half  to  one  and  three  fourths  acres  of 
beets  per  day  in  excellent  condition.  The  operations 


IOS  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

of  the  spade  or  fork  are  too  tedious  and  costly  to  be 
employed  in  this  country,  and  the  common  plough 
injures  a  great  many  of  the  beets,  thereby  promoting 
their  decay  in  the  pits. 

In  harvesting  the  beet,  it  is  advisable,  chiefly  for  two 
reasons,  to  select  dry  weather  and  a  dry  state  of  the 
soil.  If  the  weather  immediately  preceding  harvest 
is  very  wet,  not  only  is  the  beet  rendered  more  watery, 
and  the  percentage  of  sugar  contained  in  it  less,  — 
which  of  course  is  a  disadvantage  for  the  manufac 
turer,  —  but  the  beets  will  not  keep  so  well  in  the  pits. 
They  are  also  more  susceptible  to  the  action  of  frost ; 
for  the  richer  the  beet  is  in  sugar,  the  better  it  will 
keep,  and  the  less  likely  is  it  to  freeze. 

If  the  ground  is  wet,  the  earth  also  adheres  more 
closely  to  the  roots,  and  they  are  neither  so  easily  dug 
nor  so  easily  cleansed  of  the  adhering  soil.  When  the 
ground  is  wet  and  the  extracted  roots  are  very  dirty, 
they  must  be  gently  knocked  together  to  free  them 
from  the  superabundant  soil,  but  not  with  such  force 
as  to  bruise  them.  Roots  keep  better  when  some 
soil  adheres  to  them ;  but  too  much  induces  vege 
tation  in  the  pits,  which  destroys  the  sugar. 

When  the  roots  are  thrown  out  by  the  "  arracheur," 
women  and  children  place  the  beets  from  two  rows 
side  by  side  upon  the  ground,  all  lying  in  the  same 
direction,  with  their  leaves  on  one  side  and  their  roots 
on  the  other.  This  is  for  the  convenience  of  the 
workman  who  cuts  off  the  leaves.  If  the  beets  are 
properly  placed,  his  labors  are  lessened,  and  he  is  not 
obliged  to  touch  the  beets  with  his  hands.  It  takes 
but  little  extra  labor,  and  that  of  women  and  children, 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET.  10^ 

to  place  them  properly  and  to  "  double  up  the  rows," 
—  that  is,  to  place  in  one  line  the  beets  from  two 
rows,  —  while  it  not  only  hastens  the  labors  of  the  cut 
ter,  but  also  facilitates  the  subsequent  operation  of 
throwing  into  pits  or  putting  into  wagons.  Pains 
should  also  be  taken  to  have  two  ''doubled  rows" 
come  together,  in  order  to  allow  the  passage  between 
the  rows  of  extracted  beets  of  a  wagon,  into  which 
they  can  be  loaded  from  both  sides.  This  can  be 
done  in  the  following  manner :  rows  one  and  two 
should,  when  dug,  be  laid  on  the  ground  occupied  by 
row  one  ;  rowrs  three  and  four  on  row  occupied  by 
four ;  rows  five  and  six  on  row  five ;  rows  seven  and 
eight  on  row  eight ;  and  so  on. 

After  the  beets  are  placed  in  lines,  the  leaves  are 
cut  off.  For  this  operation  several  different  methods 
are  employed.  In  some  instances  the  work  is  done 
by  women  and  children,  who  use  either  a  large  knife 
with  a  curved  point,  like  a  pruning-knife,  or  a  straight 
knife,  with  a  blade  about  a  foot  long  and  an  inch  and 
a  half  wide.  In  other  cases  it  is  done  by  a  man 
either  with  a  spade  or  with  an  instrument  shaped  like 
a  sod-cutter,  with  a  handle  about  four  feet  long.  This 
latter  instrument  is  the  best.  Whichever  is  used,  it 
must  be  kept  sharp,  not  only  to  render  the  work 
easier,  but  also  to  prevent  bruising  the  beet,  which 
hastens  its  decomposition. 

If  the  beet  is  of  the  right  kind,  and  has  been  prop 
erly  cultivated,  so  that  the  root  has  not  pushed  above 
the  surface,  it  will  only  be  necessary  to  cut  off  the 
foliage,  just  shaving  the  crown  of  the  plant,  so  that 
the  leaves  fall  separated  ;  but  if  the  root,  for  any  rea- 


IIO  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

son,  has  grown  much  above  the  surface,  then  a  portion 
of  the  green  neck,  which  has  been  exposed  to  the  air, 
should  be  sliced  off  with  the  leaves.  Mutilation  of 
the  beet  must  be  avoided,  for  every  wound  not  only 
hastens  decay  in  the  pits,  but  even  a  slight  exposure 
to  the  air  induces  fermentation  at  the  wounded  part, 
which  somewhat  lessens  the  production  of  crystallized 
sugar  ;  therefore  it  is  advisable  to  cultivate  the  plant 
so  that  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  cut  off  any  part  of 
the  neck.  After  the  leaves  are  cut  off,  the  beets  may 
be  either  put  at  once  into  the  pits  or  silos,  transported 
to  the  factory,  or  thrown  into  small  piles.  If  the 
latter  course  is  adopted,  the  piles  should  not  be  made 
more  than  two  and  a  half  feet  high,  and  should  be 
covered  at  once  with  the  leaves  as  a  safeguard  against 
frost,  and  to  exclude  them  from  the  unfavorable  influ 
ence  of  light  and  air,  which  causes  them  to  wither 
and  become  flaccid,  and  tends  to  promote  decay. 

The  treatment  after  harvest  is  of  the  greatest  im 
portance  :  upon  it  depends  the  ultimate  value  of  the 
crop,  which  may  otherwise  prove  a  total  loss. 

PRESERVATION  OF  BEETS. 

The  methods  of  preserving  beets  are  various.  In 
some  parts  of  Europe  they  are  kept  upon  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  and  in  immense  solid  piles,  covering 
acres  of  land  to  a  uniform  depth  of  about  six  feet. 
I  have  even  seen  them  between  nine  and  ten  feet  deep. 
In  other  cases  they  are  placed  on  the  ground  in  piles 
ten  or  twelve  feet  wide  at  the  base,  five  feet  high,  and 
of  any  desired  length,  with  the  sides  of  the  pile  grad 
ually  converging  as  they  approach  the  requisite  height. 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  Ill 

and  with  the  top  rounded  so  as  to  shed  water.  In 
some  cases  these  piles  are  ventilated,  as  will  be  de 
scribed  hereafter,  and  in  other  cases  they  are  solid. 
In  the  opinion  of  many,  piles  should  not  contain  more 
than  five  tons,  and  should  be  thoroughly  ventilated ; 
on  the  other  hand,  I  have  seen  more  than  10,000  tons 
in  a  pile  without  any  ventilation,  and  the  beets  came 
out  in  perfect  condition.  Some  people  preserve  them 
in  silos  or  pits  of  various  sizes,  ventilated,  in  some 
instances,  and  in  others  filled  solid  ;  in  some  sections 
the  piles  are  conical. 

In  France  a  patent  has  been  taken  for  the  preserva 
tion  of  beets  by  the  mechanical  introduction  of  a  cur 
rent  of  cool  air  through  ventilators  that  traverse  the 
piles.  Preservation  in  cellars  is  not  practicable  on  a 
large  scale,  neither  do  the  beets  keep  so  well  as  those 
in  pits  or  piles. 

The  best  method  of  preserving  the  beet  is  to  keep 
it  continually  frozen  ;  for  freezing  not  only  does  not  in 
jure  its  saccharine  properties,  but  it  facilitates  the  ex 
traction  of  sugar,  probably  because  frost  ruptures  the 
sap-vessels  more  completely  than  it  is  possible  to  do 
mechanically.  The  trouble  of  frost  in  Europe  is,  that 
a  frozen  beet,  when  it  thaws,  quickly  becomes  rotten, 
and  it  is  impossible,  in  their  climate,  to  keep  them 
frozen  ;  consequently  frozen  beets  require  to  be  worked 
at  once,  or  decomposition  takes  place.  In  my  judg 
ment,  beets  may  be  frozen  in  Illinois  in  November,  and 
by  protecting  them  with  straw  from  the  rays  of  the 
sun,  may  be  kept  frozen  until  March. 

As  it  is  impossible  for  the  manfacturer  upon  a  large 
scale  to  take  the  whole  crop  at  once,  the  usual  method 


112  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

in  Europe  is  to  contract  with  each  farmer  for  the  de 
livery  of  his  beets  throughout  the  season.  A  portion  is 
required  each  day,  and  is  drawn  to  the  mill  for  imme 
diate  consumption,  if  the  beets  are  near  to  the  manufac 
tory.  There  are  also  provisions  made  for  the  storage 
of  a  large  amount  in  the  yards  of  the  factory,  and  piles 
are  also  made  on  the  road-side  of  adjacent  fields.  These 
supplies  are  drawn  at  the  time  of  harvest,  and  are  kept 
as  a  reserve  for  bad  weather,  or  when,  from  any  cause, 
the  daily  supply  from  the  farmers  is  not  sufficient. 
But  if  the  factory  is  far  from  the  fields  where  the  beets 
are  raised,  the  better  course  is  to  store  the  roots  on  the 
field,  and  deliver  them  as  required ;  for  the  beets  are 
injured  by  long  transportation,  and  do  not  keep  well. 
When  the  manufacturer  has  received  all  that  he  can 
take  care  of,  the  farmer  preserves  the  remainder  for 
delivery  throughout  the  fall  and  winter. 

In  whatever  way  they  are  stored  for  preservation,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  place  all  the  outside  beets  in  a 
perfectly  symmetrical  wall,  gradually  inclining  towards 
the  centre  of  the  pile.  For  this  purpose  the  beets  are 
placed  one  by  one,  with  their  crowns  out  and  the  roots 
in.  The  rest  may  be  thrown  promiscuously  into  the 
interior  of  the  pile.  The  sooner  the  beet  is  put  into 
pits  or  piles  after  being  dug,  the  better.  In  preserving 
beets,  they  must  be  kept  from  excessive  moisture,  pre 
vented  from  heating,  maintained  at  an  even  tempera 
ture,  and  be  easily  accessible  in  wet  and  freezing 
weather.  In  selecting  places  for  their  preservation, 
dry  land  that  affords  natural  drainage  should  be 
chosen,  and  in  close  proximity  to  a  road  or  highway, 
in  order  the  better  to  keep  them  from  excessive  moist- 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  113 

ure,  to  permit  their  easy  and  frequent  examination, 
and  their  more  expeditious  and  economical  transpor 
tation,  without  trampling  upon  and  injuring  the 
ploughed  fields.  If  the  piles  are  in  the  middle  of 
the  fields,  and  the  ground  is  wet,  more  time  and  greater 
power  will  be  required  to  draw  out  the  beets  than  if 
they  are  at  the  road-side.  I  shall  describe  the  method 
of  preserving  in  "  silos,"  generally  employed  in  Eu 
rope,  remarking  again,  that  the  size  of  these  silos 
varies  in  accordance  with  the  different  ideas  of  cul 
tivators. 

PRESERVATION  IN  SILOS  OR  PITS. 

A  pit  is  dug  in  dry  soil,  from  twenty  to  twenty-four 
inches  deep,  ten  to  twelve  feet  wide,  and  of  any  con 
venient  length  ;  the  bottom  rises  a  little  at  the  centre. 
If  the  pit  is  perfectly  dry,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to 
put  anything  on  the  bottom  ;  but  if  it  inclines  to  moist 
ure,  then  it  would  be  advisable  to  give  it  a  coating  of 
dry  sand,  and  to  make  it  sufficiently  wide  to  have  a 
ditch  one  foot  wide  around  the  pile  of  beets.  This 
ditch  should  be  five  or  six  inches  deeper  than  the  bot 
tom  of  the  pile,  and  so  arranged  as  to  afford  drainage 
for  any  water  that  might  otherwise  remain  in  the  pits. 

The  roots  are  then  put  promiscouusly  into  the  centre 
of  the  pit,  and  a  symmetrical  wall  of  beets,  laid  with  the 
crowns  out,  at  one  end  and  at  both  sides.  This  wall 
must  incline  regularly  towards  the  centre,  at  the  rate 
of  about  one  foot  in  three,  care  being  taken  to  have 
the  sides  of  the  pile  perfectly  straight  and  even. 
When  the  pile  has  been  carried  up  to  the  requisite 
height,  or  seven  to  eight  feet  from  the  bottom,  and  the 


114  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

beets  on  the  upper  surface  smoothly  and  regularly  laid, 
a  portion  of  the  earth  that  was  taken  from  the  pit 
must  be  thrown  against  the  pile,  and  a  wall  of  earth 
be  built  around  the  beets  two  and  one  half  to  three 
feet  thick  at  the  base,  and  gradually  diminishing  in 
thickness  as  the  summit  is  attained.  The  thickness 
of  this  wall  depends  upon  the  climate  and  the  soil : 
if  the  latter  is  very  light  and  sandy,  a  greater  thickness 
will  be  required  than  if  it  were  heavier  and  of  greater 
consistence.  The  top  of  the  pile,  for  a  width  of  three 
or  four  feet,  is  not  covered  with  earth  until  the  weather 
becomes  cooler.  This  open  space,  however,  is  pro 
tected  with  six  or  eight  inches  of  straw,  which  is  kept 
in  its  place  by  boughs  or  sticks.  It  is  better  not  to 
put  the  whole  of  the  earth  about  the  beets  at  once, 
but  to  cover  them  with  only  half  the  quantity  at  first, 
increasing  the  thickness  of  the  covering  as  the  season 
progresses.  As  the  period  for  strong  frost  approaches, 
the  straw  covering  on  the  top  should  be  replaced  by 
earth,  the  outside  of  the  pile  beaten  smooth  with  a 
spade,  and  put  in  condition  to  remain  through  the 
winter.  A  transverse  section  of  the  finished  pile  re 
sembles  a  haycock  in  form. 

The  end  of  the  pile  from  which  the  beets  are  first 
to  be  taken,  should  be  coated  with  three  or  four  feet 
of  straw,  firmly  secured  with  boards,  so  that  access  to 
the  beets  may  be  easily  obtained  when  the  ground  is 
frozen  hard. 

In  putting  the  beets  into  silos  or  pits,  great  pains 
must  be  taken  to  have  all  the  beets  in  the  pile  of 
one  condition  ;  that  is,  the  beets  that  will  keep  best 
should  be  put  in  one  pile  ;  those  which  will  not  keep 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  115 

so  well  should  be  put  in  another ;  those  which  are  at 
all  injured  or  bruised,  if  they  cannot  be  used  at  once 
at  the  mill,  should  be  put  into  a  third  ;  and  so  on,  tak 
ing-  care  to  remember  the  character  of  the  contents 
of  each  pile,  so  that  those  least  likely  to  keep  may  be 
first  delivered.  This  has  already  been  referred  to  on 
page  107,  but  is  of  so  great  importance  that  I  again 
allude  to  it. 

PRESERVATION  IN  PILES. 

Beets  may  be  preserved  in  piles  upon  the  surface 
of  the  ground  in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  has 
been  described  above  for  their  preservation  in  pits, 
with  this  exception,  that  the  depth  of  beets  should  not 
exceed  five  or  six  feet.  In  both  cases  a  shallow  ditch 
should  surround  the  pile  and  silo  or  pit  for  the  purpose 
of  drainage.  In  some  cases  a  layer  of  beets  a  foot 
thick  is  covered  with  two  inches  of  earth,  and  then 
another  layer  of  beets,  and  so  on  until  the  pile  is  com 
pleted  :  this  is  a  good  but  expensive  process.  In  all 
cases  the  piles  should  be  repeatedly  examined,  and  all 
cracks  and  chinks  in  the  covering  of  earth  repaired  at 
once. 

VENTILATION  OF  BEETS. 

Some  persons  consider  it  of  the  first  importance 
to  ventilate  beets,  both  those  in  piles  and  in  pits ; 
but  I  have  seen  such  vast  quantities  kept  in  fine 
condition  until  the  i5th  of  February,  stored  with 
out  ventilation,  in  the  comparatively  warm  climate 
of  France,  that  I  doubt  its  necessity.  When  ventila 
tion  is  practised,  it  is  sometimes  effected  by  placing 
in  the  centre  of  the  pile,  at  distances  of  twelve  to  fifteen 


Il6  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

feet,  chimneys  two  or  three;  inches  square,  made  of 
rough  boards.  These  chimneys  extend  from  the  bot 
tom  to  the  top  of  the  pile.  In  some  cases  a  bundle 
of  twigs  five  or  six  inches  in  diameter,  and  in  others  a 
pole  wrapped  loosely  around  with  straw,  takes  the 
place  of  the  chimney.  Sometimes  these  chimneys 
rest  upon  the  top  of  triangular  frames  or  ventilators. 
These  are  made  of  a  piece  of  board,  perhaps  a  foot 
in  width,  and  another  narrow  strip,  say  of  scantling. 
Laths  or  short  narrow  strips  of  wood  are  then  nailed 
upon  the  board  and  scantling,  in  such  manner  as  to 
form  a  triangular  frame,  like  the  roof  of  a  house,  the 
board  serving  as  the  floor,  the  scantling  as  the  ridge-, 
pole,  and  the  laths  as  the  rafters. 

These  frames  are  placed  end  to  end  upon  the 
ground,  running  longitudinally  in  the  centre  of  the 
proposed  pile,  which  is  then  placed  about  them  in 
the  same  manner  as  described  for  the  ordinary  piles ; 
the  chimney  is  placed  in  the  centre,  and  is  connected 
with  the  ventilators,  as  has  been  described.  Every 
twenty  or  thirty  feet  a  frame  also  runs  across  the  pile. 
The  mouths  of  these  ventilators  come  to  the  outside 
of  the  completed  pile,  and  are  stuffed  and  completely 
protected  with  straw,  which  can  easily  be  removed, 
and  by  which  the  supply  of  air  can  be  regulated.  It  is 
best,  if  possible,  to  have  the  piles  and  silos  run  north 
and  south,  having  the  end  to  be  first  opened  facing 
the  south.  By  this  arrangement  it  is  easier  to  protect 
the  pile  effectually,  with  earth  and  straw,  from  the  in 
fluence  of  cold  north  winds  ;  while  the  end  which  is 
to  be  opened,  being  on  the  south,  is  warmer  and  better 
protected. 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET. 


117 


METHOD  OF  PRESERVATION  IN  SAXONY. 

A  method  of  preserving  beets  prevails  in  Saxony 
that  seems  an  admirable  one,  and  well  adapted  to 
existing  conditions  in  Illinois,  where  straw  is  super 
abundant  and  comparatively  without  value. 

To  facilitate  the  explanation  I  present  the  following 
diagram :  — 

d 


d\    A 


M 


d 


PQ 


B  i,  B  2,  and  B  3  are  trenches,  six  feet  broad  and 
two  feet  deep,  to  be  used  as  silos  or  pits,  made  chiefly 
with  the  plough  on  three  sides  of  a  parallelogram. 
The  trench  B  3  is  fifty-two  feet  long,  and  the  space 
C  between  the  trenches  has  a  breadth  of  forty  feet 
and  a  length  as  great  as  may  be  needed.  Storage 
is  commenced  by  building  piles  in  the  silo  B  3,  in 
the  manner  described  on  page  113,  beginning  on  the 


Il8  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

end  of  the  parallelogram,  and  at  the  same  time  in  the 
trenches  B  i  and  B  2.  Line  A  is  the  outer  edge  of 
the  pit.  The  depth  of  the  beets  in  the  piles  should  not 
exceed  six  feet,  two  of  which  being  beneath  the  sur 
face,  gives  a  height  of  four  feet  above  the  ground.  As 
the  work  progresses,  the  outside  should  be  covered 
with  earth  and  the  inside  with  straw. 

When  the  end  is  finished,  and  the  two  sides  have 
been  extended  to  a  length  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet, 
the  straw  in  the  interior  is  removed,  and  other  beets 
thrown  promiscuously  into  space  C,  against  the  wall 
of  beets  in  the  trenches.  The  beets  are  eventually 
piled  up  to  the  level  of  the  top  of  the  wall ;  but  in  the 
early  harvest,  before  the  weather  gets  cold,  it  would 
be  better  to  pile  them  only  two  feet  deep,  and  put  in 
the  rest  later  in  the  season.  The  beets  on  the  top, 
when  the  pile  is  finished,  require  to  be  carefully  placed 
with  their  crowns  on  the  outside  and  their  roots  ex 
tending  into  the  pile.  The  pits  are  covered,  as  soon 
as  they  are  finished,  with  straw,  with  which  the  inner 
part  of  the  walls  are  also  kept  constantly  protected. 

Beets  should  not  be  left  uncovered  any  longer  than 
is  absolutely  necessary,  from  the  time  they  are  dug 
until  they  are  consumed  in  the  factory.  As  the  weather 
grows  cooler,  the  straw  should  be  removed  from  the 
top  of  the  pile,  and  a  layer  six  inches  thick  of  earth, 
or  of  short  stable  manure,  spread,  thoroughly  smoothed, 
and  rendered  as  compact  as  possible,  upon  the  top 
of  the  pile.  This  layer  may  be  succeeded,  still  later 
in  the  season,  by  a  second  or  third  layer,  as  circum 
stances  require.  When  sufficient  thickness  has  been 
obtained,  the  whole  may  be  covered  with  straw.  Sep- 


CULTIVATION    OF   THE    BEET.  119 

arate  compartments  may  be  made  with  walls  of  earth 
in  the  space  C,  to  separate  different  qualities  of  beets. 
The  ends  of  the  side  walls  in  the  silos  must  be  covered 
with  earth,  like  the  rest  of  the  outside  ;  and  when  the 
whole  crop  has  been  harvested,  the  last  of  the  beets 
must  be  employed  to  build  a  wall  in  the  usual  manner 
across  space  C.  It  will  be  necessary,  in  preserving 
beets  in  this  way,  to  have  a  greater  amount  of  earth 
for  covering  than  the  pits  furnish  ;  and  in  ploughing  to 
procure  it,  furrows  should  not  be  run  nearer  than  line 
d,  say  within  three  feet  of  the  pile,  lest  the  walls  of  beets 
should  be  disturbed.  The  advantages  of  this  method 
are,  that  it  allows  the  farmer  to  store  large  quantities 
safely  on  spots  the  most  conveniently  located.  It  also 
facilitates  the  daily  opening  of  the  pile,  when  the  beets 
are  to  be  carried  to  the  factory  ;  for  the  entrance  is 
small  compared  with  the  size  of  the  pile,  and  can  be 
easily  protected  by  straw,  which  it  requires  but  little 
time  to  remove.  It  also  saves,  to  a  considerable  ex 
tent,  the  comparatively  tedious  and  costly  process  of 
building  the  walls  which  are  required,  when  the 
smaller  and  consequently  more  numerous  piles  are 
constructed. 

METHOD  OF  PRESERVING  ROOTS  IN  MASSA 
CHUSETTS. 

I  annex  the  instructions  given  for  the  preservation 
of  root  crops  in  Flint's  "  Agriculture  of  Massachu 
setts." 

"  Dig  a  pit  six  feet  wide,  ten  or  fifteen  feet  long,  and 
eighteen  inches  deep.  Pile  the  roots  as  steep  and  high 
as  the  base  will  carry  and  keep  them.  Cover  the  heap 


120  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

with  a  layer  of  straw  six  inches  thick,  and  follow  with 
a  covering  of  earth  six  inches  deep,  patting  it  down, 
so  that  the  rains  shall  not  furrow  it.  Set  one  or  more 
tile  ventilators  loosely  rilled  with  straw.  In  covering 
the  heap,  throw  up  the  earth  so  as  to  leave  a  ditch 
around  it  about  two  feet  from  the  base  line,  being  sure 
to  so  construct  it  as  to  drain  the  water  away.  Cover 
the  heap  with  an  additional  six  inches  of  earth  as  late 
as  the  season  will  allow.  Heaps  of  roots,  however 
stored,  must  be  properly  ventilated.  Vegetable  mat 
ter  is  invariably  decomposed  by  heat ;  hence  the  fre 
quent  loss  invariably  resulting  from  a  want  of  care  in 
storing  them.  Let  them  be  kept  at  as  low  a  tempera 
ture  as  possible  above  freezing  point." 

SEED. 

The  saving  of  seed  is  a  matter  of  the  greatest  con 
sequence,  in  connection  with  the  production  of  the 
sugar  beet.  In  the  infancy  of  beet-sugar  manufacture 
the  ordinary  forage  beets,  such  as  the  red  mangel-wur 
zel,  that  contains  only  five  to  six  per  cent,  of  sugar,  and 
often  less,  were  generally  employed  ;  *  but  varieties  far 
richer  were  gradually  introduced,  and  by  judicious 
selections  and  crosses  of  different  varieties,  the  char 
acter  of  the  plant  has  been  improved,  and  its  saccha 
rine  properties  largely  increased.  Experiments  have 

*  This  accounts,  in  some  measure,  for  the  low  percentage  of 
yield,  and  also  for  the  high  cost  of  sugar  in  former  days ;  for  the 
expenses  were  greater  to  work  the  poor  beets,  and  less  sugar  was 
obtained,  than  is  now  done.  In  1840  it  required  eighteen  tons 
of  beets  to  make  a  ton  of  sugar  in  the  Zollverein.  It  now  requires 
less  than  twelve  tons. 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  121 

conclusively  shown,  that  seeds  from  beets  rich  in 
sugar,  produce  richer  beets  than  are  raised  from  the 
seed  of  those  poorer  in  saccharine  matter. 

Beets  containing  sixteen  per  cent,  of  sugar  are  not 
rare,  and  in  one  instance  twenty-one  per  cent,  was 
found  in  a  variety  produced  by  M.  Vilmorin,  near 
Paris.  There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  sac 
charine  quality  of  the  beet  has  yet  attained  its  com 
plete  development. 

The  German  method  of  selecting  the  white  Sile- 
sian  beets  to  bear  seed  the  succeeding  year  is  as  fol 
lows  :  — 

They  are  chosen,  not  from  the  piles  after  they  are 
gathered,  but  while  they  are  still  standing  in  the  field 
rows.  Medium-sized  beets,  grown  in  moderately  rich 
soil,  are  preferred  to  those  grown  in  land  very  highly 
manured.  Plants  should  be  selected  whose  roots, 
growing  entirely  beneath  the  surface,  are  shaped  like 
a  pear,  and  not  like  a  turnip  ;  whose  crown  is  single, 
and  presents  no  cavity  ;  the  longitudinal  indentations 
on  whose  main  root  incline  to  a  spiral  rather  than  a 
straight  direction  ;  whose  foliage  is  not  too  luxuriant, 
but,  standing  close  together,  grows  low  to  the  ground 
in  form  like  a  large  plate ;  and  the  color  of  whose 
leaves  is  not  tinged,  spotted,  nor  fringed  with  red,  but 
of  a  clear,  bright  green. 

If  varieties  other  than  the  white  Silesian  are  used, 
then  the  properties  to  be  sought  for  in  the  plant  for 
future  seed-bearing,  should  be  those  which  most  nearly 
approach  perfection  in  the  given  variety. 

The  richness  of  a  beet,  either  in  saccharine,  saline, 
or  alkaline  constituents,  is  determined  by  its  specific 
6 


122  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

gravity.  But  as  the  saline  and  alkaline  properties  are, 
to  a  certain  extent,  developed  under  different  circum 
stances  from  those  which  produce  the  highest  saccha 
rine  qualities,  and  as  it  is  well  known  under  what 
circumstances  the  one  or  the  other  properties  are  most 
fully  developed,  it  is  necessary  to  choose  good  seed- 
beets  from  those  growing  under  conditions  most  fa 
vorable  for  the  production  of  sugar,  and  from  these  to 
select  those  having  the  greatest  specific  gravity. 

A  soil  rather  sandy,  and  not  too  highly  manured 
with  stable  manure,  although  it  does  not  yield  such 
heavy  crops  as  one  more  fertile,  nevertheless  produces 
a  beet  that  not  only  ripens  earlier,  but  is  also  richer 
in  sugar,  comparatively  free  from  saline  and  alkaline 
elements,  and  well  suited  for  seed. 

The  salts  in  stable  manure  are  readily  absorbed  by 
the  beet ;  consequently  the  best  course  to  take,  in  order 
to  secure  good  seed-beets,  is  to  sow  the  seed  the  pre 
ceding  year  on  a  part  of  the  field  that  has  not  been 
manured  for  two  or  three  years,  and  is  best  adapted 
by  nature  to  the  purpose.  Bone-dust,  however,  may 
be  used  with  advantage  in  the  drill  as  a  fertilizer. 
From  the  time  the  plant  first  makes  its  appearance, 
the  cultivation  should  be  most  thorough.  When  the 
beets  are  ripening,  select  those  having  the  qualities 
described,  and  mark  them  to  be  dug  when  fully  ripe. 
When  this  period  arrives,  the  roots  are  very  carefully 
taken  up,  the  extreme  end  of  the  tap-root  removed, 
the  leaves  cut  off  with  a  sharp  knife  to  within  an  inch 
of  the  crown,  instead  of  close,  as  in  the  case  of  those 
to  be  used  in  the  factory.  A  trench  in  a  dry,  well- 
drained  soil,  and  in  a  sheltered  spot,  is  then  dug  two 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  123 

feet  deep,  five  or  six  feet  broad,  and  of  the  requisite 
length.  The  beets  are  carefully  laid  side  by  side  in 
the  trench,  layer  upon  layer.  Between  each  layer 
just  sufficient  soil  is  spread  to  separate  the  rows  of 
beets.  As  soon  as  the  trench  is  full,  the  beets  are  laid 
so  that  the  sides  of  the  pile  converge  rapidly,  assum 
ing  the  form  of  an  angular  roof,  the  top  of  which  is 
three  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Earth  is 
then  put  on  to  a  thickness  of  eight  inches,  which  is 
to  be  increased  as  the  weather  becomes  colder. 

As  early  in  the  following  spring  as  the  soil  is  in 
suitable  condition,  a  piece  of  land,  sheltered  from  the 
wind,  and  that  was  deeply  ploughed  in  fall,  is  se 
lected  for  the  plantation  of  the  seed-beets.  Land 
should  be  selected  for  this  purpose  which  is  as  dis 
tant  as  possible  from  other  beets,  in  order  to  prevent 
the  plants,  when  in  flower,  from  being  "  crossed"  by 
other  varieties. 

Deep  furrow's  are  made  three  feet  apart,  and  holes 
are  dug  two  feet  apart  in  the  furrows,  of  ample  size 
for  the  reception  of  the  root ;  the  earth  in  each  hole 
is  made  mellow  with  the  spade,  and  two  handfuls 
of  bone-dust  are  incorporated  with  the  soil.  The 
beets  are  placed  perpendicularly  in  the  holes,  without 
being  bent,  and  the  earth  gradually  put  in  and  pressed 
about  them  with  the  hand.  The  crowns  must  be  kept 
just  below  the  surface.  After  the  roots  have  been  set 
out,  and  the  earth  thoroughly  pressed  against  them 
with  the  foot,  the  ground  must  be  dressed  with  the 
hoe,  and  one  inch  of  earth,  with  a  handful  of  bone- 
dust,  placed  on  the  crown  of  each  plant,  to  protect  it 
from  frosts. 


124  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

As  soon  as  the  beets  are  up,  thorough  cultivation 
and  weeding  must  be  persistently  followed.  The  beets 
should  be  earthed  up  with  the  double  mould-board 
plough  and  the  hoe,  the  poorest  and  weakest  flower- 
stalks  removed,  and  as  the  seed  begins  to  form,  the 
tips  of  the  stalks  should  be  pinched  off.  Harvesting  is 
done  before  the  extremities  of  the  seed-bearing  branches 
turn  brown.  The  stalks  are  cut  off  near  to  the  ground, 
bound  into  small  sheaves,  containing  eight  or  ten 
stalks,  and  kept  until  they  are  dry  in  a  sunny  and  airy 
place.  As  soon  as  the  stalks  are  well  dried,  the  seed 
is  thrashed  out,  dry,  hot  weather  being  more  favorable 
for  the  operation.  It  is  then  winnowed  and  spread  two 
or  three  inches  deep  on  a  dry  and  sunny  spot,  and  occa 
sionally  stirred.  When  perfectly  dry,  it  is  put  into 
sacks,  not  over  a  foot  wide,  and  two  and  a  half  feet  long, 
with  labels  attached,  to  describe  the  kind  of  the  seed 
and  the  date  of  its  production.  The  sacks  are  then 
suspended  by  cords  in  a  dry,  airy  loft,  in  such  manner 
that  they  do  not  touch  each  other,  and  are  inaccessi 
ble  to  rats,  which  are  very  fond  of  the  seed.  Seed 
thus  saved  retains  its  germinating  power  for  several 
years.  In  fact,  seed  only  a  year  old  should  not  be 
sown,  as  it  produces  beets  more  liable  to  "go  to  seed " 
than  those  obtained  from  old  seed. 

In  some  parts  of  Germany,  after  the  seed-beets  are 
taken  from  the  pits  in  which  they  have  been  kept 
through  the  winter,  they  are  subjected  to  a  test,  by 
which  those  only  having  the  greatest  specific  gravity 
are  retained  for  planting.  The  beets  are  all  thrown 
into  water,  and  the  earth  carefully  washed  from  them  ; 
those  which  float  are  rejected,  and  the  rest  are  reserved 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  125 

for  the  next  test.  Four  or  five  vessels  containing  brine 
of  different  degrees  of  strength  are  then  prepared,  and 
the  beets  are  placed  one  after  another  in  the  weakest 
brine.  Those  are  rejected  which  float,  and  the  re 
mainder  are  subjected  to  the  test  in  the  next  strongest 
brine,  and  so  on,  until  those  only  are  planted  which 
sink  in  the  brine  that  is  strongest. 

M.  Vilmorin,  the  great  seedsman  of  France,  selects 
his  seed-beets  by  making  an  accurate  philosophical 
test  of  the  density  of  the  juice  of  each  beet.  For  this 
purpose,  with  a  sharp  punch  like  an  apple-corer,  he 
cuts  a  piecejout  of  the  middle  of  the  beet,  punching  it 
out  with  a  wooden  plug  fitted  to  the  aperture.  This 
piece  of  beet  he  rasps,  presses,  and  then  filters  its 
juice  through  a  linen  cloth  into  a  "  prover,"  in  which, 
with  the  densimeter  and  aerometer,  he  ascertains  its 
exact  density.  He  retains  only,  beets  of  a  certain 
standard  of  density.  The  holes  in  these  are  filled 
with  sand,  and  they  are  planted  in  the  usual  manner. 

A  custom,  borrowed  from  the  Chinese,  prevails  in 
some,  parts  of  France,  of  making,  before  planting, 
three  or  four  shallow,  longitudinal  cuts  on  the  side  of 
t)  e  seed-beets  (beginning  an  inch  or  two  below  the 
crown),  which  open  during  vegetation.  The  theory 
is,  that  roots  are  thrown  out  from  these  cuts,  and  the 
beet  is  thereby  enabled  to  draw  sustenance  from  a 
more  extended  area,  throwing  up  a  stouter  flower- 
stalk,  less  likely  to  be  influenced  by  the  wind,  and 
producing  better  and  more  abundant  seed. 

Too  much  pains  cannot  be  taken  to  plant  the  best 
seed,  for  beets  vary  so  much  in  saccharine  richness  in 
districts  where  little  attention  is  paid  by  farmers  to 


126  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

selecting  the  best  kind,  that  many  manufacturers  test 
the  beets  before  purchase,  and  pay  according  to  quality, 
not  quantity,  some  beets  being  really  worth  twice  as 
much  as  others. 

Crops  very  rich  in  sugar  are  not  so  large  as  those  of 
a  poorer  quality. 

Where  beets  are  sold  by  the  ton,  and  not  by  degree 
of  richness,  those  containing  twelve  to  twelve  and  a 
half  per  cent,  afford  the  density  upon  which  the 
interests  of  the  farmer  and  manufacturer  can  best  be 
united. 

In  the  infancy  of  the  industry  in  this  country,  we 
shall  be  compelled  to  import  seed.  All  varieties,  and 
of  the  best  qualities,  not  only  of  beets,  but  of  all  other 
plants,  may  be  obtained,  with  certainty  of  being  true 
to  description,  from  Vilmorin,  Andrieux  &  Co.,  of 
Paris. 

MANURES. 

FOR  the  profitable  production  of  beets  in  Europe, 
the  liberal  use  of  fertilizers  is  a  necessity.  The  virgin 
soils  of  the  west  may  not  absolutely  require  it,  in  order 
to  secure  good  crops,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  pro 
ductiveness  can  be  increased  by  the  judicious  use  of 
manures  ;  and  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  time  will  soon 
come  when  it  will  be  absolutely  necessary.  The  best 
fertilizers  to  produce  large  crops  of  beet,  are  human 
ordure,  and  that  of  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep.  The 
urine,  and  all  liquid  manures,  should  be  saved,  because 
they  are  richer  in  fertilizing  properties,  and  assimilate 
more  readily  with  plants  than  the  solid  portions  of 
dung.  There  is,  however,  this  objection  to  the  use  of 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  I2J 

all  those  fertilizers  which  are  rich  in  salts,  that,  when 
freshly  applied  to  a  crop  of  beets,  they  cause  the  latter 
to  flourish  vigorously  and  give  large  returns,  but  the 
presence  of  salts  is  prejudicial  to  the  economical  ex 
traction  of  sugar,  and  the  roots  abound  in  saline  ele 
ments  that  are  absorbed  from  the  manures.  In  Ger 
many,  where  beets  are  taxed,  and  quality  is  of  more 
importance  than  quantity,  the  beet  is  not  sown  on 
freshly  manured  land,  but  on  soil  that  has  not  been 
enriched  for  one  or  two  years.  In  France,  on  the 
contrary,  where  the  sugar  is  taxed,  and  the  object  of 
the  farmer  is  to  get  large  crops,  the  beet  is  sown  on 
soil  highly  manured  the  preceding  fall.  The  conse 
quences  of  these  two  systems  are,  that  the  crops  in 
France,  although  considerably  heavier  than  those  of 
Germany,  do  not  possess  as  rich  saccharine  properties. 
The  German  beet  is  more  than  one  per  cent,  richer 
than  the  French,  owing  to  the  facts,  that  it  is  by  nature 
richer,  that  it  grows  in  a  colder  climate,  and,  follow 
ing  the  law  of  latitudes,  secretes  more  sugar,  while, 
at  the  same  time,  its  growth  not  being  so  much  stimu 
lated  by  manures,  the  same  amount  of  sugar  is  diffused 
through  a  smaller  space.  The  average  production  of 
sugar  on  an  acre  of  land  in  the  two  countries  is  about 
the  same. 

The  ordure  of  cattle  produces  cleaner,  smoother, 
and  handsomer  roots,  containing  fewer  salts,  than  that 
of  men,  horses,  sheep,  or  swine.  Indeed,  there  is 
quite  a  general  prejudice  against  the  use  of  sheep  and 
hog  manure  on  beets  in  Europe,  whether  well  or  ill 
founded  I  am  not  able  to  say.  Many  farmers  fatten 
sheep  on  the  pulp  of  beets,  upon  which  they  thrive 


128  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

admirably  ;  but  the  method  is  not  universally  approved 
even  by  those  who  practise  it.  They  say  that  sheep 
manure  is  bad  for  the  beet,  but  the  disadvantage  is 
in  a  measure  compensated  for,  when  the  pulp  is  fed  to 
sheep,  by  the  excellent  quality  of  mutton  produced. 

Well-rotted,  strawy  manure  is  preferable  to  that 
without  straw.  If  applied  to  the  beet,  without  any 
preceding  crop,  it  should  be  done  in  the  fall,  as  directed 
on  page  92  ;  if  employed  in  spring,  it  should  be 
thoroughly  "  worked  over,"  and  made  as  fine  as  possi 
ble.  Stable  manures  may  be  advantageously  com 
posted  with  muck,  with  wood  or  coal  ashes,  or  with 
the  young  beets  which  have  been  thinned  out,  if  they 
are  not  all  required  for  stock.  Muck  may  be  com 
posted  with  lime,  or  ashes,  either  of  wood  or  coal. 
The  refuse  of  the  sugar  manufactory  furnishes  great 
quantities  of  fertilizing  materials,  most  of  which  are  of 
the  very  highest  value.  The  earthy  refuse  of  the 
wash-house,  where  the  beets  are  cleansed  before  rasp 
ing  ;  the  little  roots  and  fibres  ;  the  decayed  portions  of 
such  beets  as  it  may  be  necessary  to  trim ;  the  scum 
of  defecation  ;  the  incrustations  of  the  boilers,  reser 
voirs,  and  cisterns ;  the  worn-out  sacs ;  the  waste  and 
exhausted  bone-black  ;  the  ashes  from  the  boilers  ;  and 
the  exhausted  lime  of  defecation,  are  of  great  value. 
They  are  all  sources  of  revenue  to  the  European  manu 
facturer,  and  I  have  even  seen  mill-owners,  besieged  by 
applicants  for  the  privilege  of  buying  the  mud  accumu 
lated  in  their  factory  yards  from  soil  that  fell  off  the 
wheels  of  wagons  used  in  transporting  beets. 

The  scums  and  incrustations,  the  lime  and  the  bone- 
black,  should  be  mixed  thoroughly  together  with  an 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  129 

equal  quantity  of  fine  soil,  and  applied  either  broad 
cast  in  the  spring  before  harrowing,  or  sprinkled  about 
the  plants  at  the  time  of  cultivation.  It  is  also  an  ex 
cellent  compost  for  seed-beets,  and  can  be  put  into  the 
holes  and  incorporated  with  the  soil  at  the  time  the 
beets  are  "  set  out." 

Bone-dust  and  superphosphate  of  lime,  particularly 
the  former,  are  excellent  fertilizers.  Peruvian  guano 
is  a  powerful  stimulant,  but  its  effects,  when  used 
alone,  are  not  favorable  ;  it  is  better  when  mixed  with 
the  two  previously  named  manures  in  the  proportions 
of  one  of  guano  to  two,  or  even  three,  of  bone-dust  or 
superphosphate  of  lime.  These  manures  should  be 
thoroughly  mixed,  and  kept  from  the  air  for  one  week 
before  they  are  used. 

Such  of  the  beet  leaves  cut  off  in  the  fields  as  are 
not  wanted  for  stock,  when  spread  upon  the  ground 
and  ploughed  in  while  green,  furnish  an  excellent 
manure,  equal,  if  all  are  left,  to  six  or  eight  loads  of 
stable  manure  per  acre.  Linseed  oil  cake  powdered, 
and  sown  broadcast  before  harrowing  at  the  rate  of 
half  a  ton  or  a  ton  to  an  acre,  or  sprinkled  about  the 
plants  at  the  time  of  cultivation,  is  an  excellent  ferti 
lizer.  Bone-dust  and  wood-ashes,  or  bone-dust,  ashes, 
and  lime,  in  equal  proportions,  are  excellent.  Lime 
from  gas-houses,  thoroughly  mixed  with  stable  ma 
nure,  makes  an  excellent  compost  for  the  beet.  Chlo 
ride  of  sodium  or  common  salt,  which  on  some  soils 
and  for  certain  crops  makes  a  good  compost,  is  very 
unfavorable  for  the  sugar  beet,  unless  mixed  with 
certain  other  materials  in  the  form  of  an  artificial 
6* 


130 


BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 


fertilizer,  which  I  shall  hereafter  describe,  and  which 
has  produced  great  results. 

An  artificial  manure,  manufactured  by  Emil  Giis- 
sefeld,  of  Hamburg,  by  treating  the  guano  from  Baker's 
Island  with  sulphuric  acid,  is  in  high  repute  in  Ger 
many.  It  is  called  Giissefeld's  superphosphate  of 
Baker's  guano,  and  is  thus  composed  :  — 

Phosphoric  acid, 19.9 

Magnesia  and  lime, 17.3 

Sulphate  of  lime, 42.1 

Water, 16.2 

Organic  substances, 2.9 

Alkaline  salts, i. 

Other  matters, 6 

100. 

Three  adjoining  pieces  of  land,  containing  .63  of 
an  acre  each,  were  cultivated  with  beets  in  the  fol 
lowing  manner,  and  showed  the  given  results.  For 
the  convenience  of  the  reader  the  table  is  made  on  a 
basis  of  one  entire  acre  :  — 


Number 
of  the 

Amount  of 
superphos 

Peru 
guano, 

Quantity 
of  beets, 

Quantity 
of  beets, 

Contents 
of  sugar, 

fields. 

phate,  Ibs. 

Ibs. 

Ibs. 

tons. 

per  cent. 

I 

177 

29.524 

J3i 

12.49 

2 

355 

177 

29.524 

I3l 

13-23 

3 

531 

265 

30-r58 

*32 

13.62 

All  manures  having  a  basis  of  potassa,  or  that  contain 
soluble  phosphates,  are  of  the  highest  value  in  the  cul 
ture  of  beets. 

It  is  said  that  the  use  of  sulphate  of  potash,  as  ma- 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  131 

nure,  increases  their  saccharine  contents  two  or  three 
per  cent.  Instances  are  recorded  of  beets  so  fertilized 
containing  twenty  per  cent,  of  sugar. 

Giissefeld  also  makes  an  artificial  manure  contain 
ing  fourteen  per  cent,  of  potash  and  thirteen  per  cent, 
phosphoric  acid.  Experiments  go  to  show  that  it 
increases  the  yield  of  beets  over  that  obtained  on 
unfertilized  land  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  per  cent., 
and  the  percentage  of  sugar  about  one  half  per  cent. 
An  artificial  manure,  containing  seventeen  per  cent, 
of  soluble  phosphates,  made  by  Gils  &  Co.,  of  Ant 
werp,  costing  $48  a  ton  of  2,240  pounds,  was  ap 
plied  to  land  in  Saxony  at  the  rate  of  325  pounds 
per  acre,  or  at  a  cost  for  manure  of  about  seven 
dollars. 

The  following  were  the  results,  as  compared  with  a 
field  precisely  similar  and  well  manured  with  stable 
manure :  —  Crop  on  an  acre,  with  stable  manure, 
31,064  pounds,  or  13.87  tons ;  with  artificial  guano, 
48,741  pounds,  or  21.76  tons.  Difference  in  favor  of 
guano,  17,677  pounds,  or  7.89  tons. 

In  seventeen  cases  recorded  in  Saxony,  fields  ma 
nured  with  Peruvian  guano,  mixed  with  this  fertilizer 
in  the  proportion  of  two  of  the  former  to  three  of  the 
latter,  produced,  as  compared  with  unmanured  land 
of  equal  original  condition,  an  increased  crop  of  3^ 
tons  per  acre. 

It  is  used  in  Saxony  at  the  rate  of  over  12,000  tons 
a  year. 

A  Mr.  Frank,  of  Stassfurt,  in  Prussia,  near  Magde 
burg,  has  compounded  an  artificial  manure  from  the 
refuse  rock  salt  of  the  mines  in  his  neighborhood. 


132  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

This  manure,  costing  at  Stassfurt  about  forty  dollars 
per  ton,  contains  the  following  constituents  in  tlie  pro 
portions  set  forth :  — 

Sulphate  of  potash,     .     .     .  1 8  to  20  per  cent. 

"         "    magnesia,     .     .  18  "  20  " 

"         "    lime,    ....  3  u  5  " 

Chloride  of  sodium,    .     .     .  40  "  42  " 

"         "    magnesium,  .     .  2  "  3  " 

Magnesia, 2  "  3  " 

Water  and  sand,     ....  17  "  7  " 

TOO         100 

This  manure  is  spread  upon  the  land  at  the  rate  of 
175  to  350  pounds  per  acre,  either  in  fall  or  spring, 
and  ploughed  in  ;  or  it  may  be  mixed  with  guano  in 
the  proportions  of  two  of  the  former  to  three  of  the 
latter ;  or  it  may  be  mixed  and  thoroughly  incorpo 
rated  with  stable  manure.  Experiments  were  tried 
with  it  in  Waldau,  Prussia,  in  1864,  on  a  large  scale, 
no  less  than  500  tons  of  the  manure  having  been  em 
ployed,  at  the  rate  of  180  to  350  Ibs.  to  an  acre.  Fields 
containing  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  acres  were  chosen 
for  the  trial :  these  were  manured  in  the  usual  manner  ; 
were  then  divided  into  equal  parts,  and  the  Stassfurt 
manure  added  to  one  of  the  parts.  The  greatest  pains 
were  taken  to  give  it  a  fair  test,  and  the  following 
results  were  obtained.  The  yield  of  beets  slightly 
exceeded  that  on  other  fields.  To  give  an  idea  of  the 
astonishing  excess  of  sugar  contained  in  beets  pro 
duced  with  the  Stassfurt  manure,  the  following  table 
is  submitted :  — 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET. 


'33 


Fields. 

Stassfurt  ma 
nure  per  acre, 
cwts. 

Sugar  in  juice  with 
Stassfurt  manure, 
per  cent. 

Sugar  in  juice  with 
out  Stassfurt  ma 
nure,  per  cent. 

•  ft 

none  ) 
I-     J 

14.04 

12.42 

•  U 

none  ) 

LO 

16.20      ^ 

I2-83      A 

3      {  \ 

none  ) 
i.     J 

I3-I7         & 

*  !! 

none  ) 
2F'    y 

cS 

^ 

C« 

H-43      ? 

*  IJ 

none  ) 
I-     f 

14.38 

13-3° 

The  following  also  shows  the  effect  of  the  Stassfurt 
fertilizer  in  other  parts  of  Prussia  :  — 

Applied  at  the  rate  of  533  pounds  to  an  acre,  it 
increased  the  quantity  of  sugar  in  the  juice  of  the 
beets  over  those  raised  without  the  manure  from  12.82 
to  14.42  per  cent.  In  another  instance  the  increase 
was  from  13.6  to  14.8  per  cent. 

The  best  method  of  employing  it  seemed  to  be  with 
bone-dust  or  phosphate  of  lime,  in  the  proportions  of 
one  of  the  former  to  three  of  either  of  the  latter. 
Guano  and  Stassfurt  manure,  with  bone-dust  or  phos 
phate  of  lime,  in  the  proportions  of  one  each  of  the 
former  to  three  of  either  of  the  latter,  have  been  ap 
plied  with  excellent  results. 

Stable  manure  alone  will  not  supply  the  materials 
taken  from  the  soil  by  crops.  For  this  purpose  arti 
ficial  fertilizers  are  required.  Chemistry  not  only 
teaches  us  of  what  materials  these  fertilizers  should 
be  composed,  but  also  provides  them.  According  to 
Hall  and  Ogston,  English  chemists,  the  amount  of 


134  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR    AND 

solid  material  removed  from  a  field  with  every  ton 
of  beets  is  as  follows  :  — 

Roots.  Leaves. 

Ibs.  Ibs. 

Potash, 4.99  .     .     .  7.86 

Soda, 3.02  .     .     .  2.52 

Lime, 41  ...  3.31 

Magnesia, 43  ...  3.27 

Oxide  of  Iron,    ...       .12  ...  .52 

Phosphoric  acid,      .     .       .66  .     .     .  1.94 

Sulphuric  acid,    .     .     .       .65  .     .     .  2.20 

Chloride  of  soda,     .     .     5.29  .     .     .  12.82 

'  Silica, 54  ...  .76 

16.11  35-2° 

Calculating  the  average  yield  at  twenty  tons  to  an 
acre,  and  assuming  that  the  leaves,  as  well  as  the 
roots,  are  removed,  there  would  be  taken  from  each 
acre  1026^°^  pounds  of  solid  material. 

In  order  to  maintain  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  return  this  amount  to  the  land.  Sta 
ble  manure  will  not  provide  all  the  requisite  materials, 
and  the  deficiency  must  be  supplied  with  properly 
composed  artificial  fertilizers. 

Barral  says  to  French  agriculturists,  "  Buy  artificial 
manures,  but  above  all  increase  your  stable  manure." 

ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 

The  necessity  of  a  rotation  of  crops  is  too  well 
established  to  be  discussed  —  the  only  question  is, 
What  is  the  best  succession  ?  I  am  aware  that  some 
farmers,  particularly  at  the  west,  proceed  upon  the 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  135 

theory,  that  the  fertility  of  their  land  is  inexhaustible, 
cultivating  the  same  crop  year  after  year  upon  the 
same  soil,  and  in  too  many  instances  without  manure 
I  have  seen  fields  upon  which  corn  had  been  raiseJ. 
for  twenty-two  successive  years  without  manure  — 
a  folly  even  greater  than  Crespel  records,  when  he 
states  that  he  cultivated  sugar  beets  for  fifteen  succes 
sive  years  on  the  same  land.  This  method  of  farming 
—  if  it  can  be  called  farming — is  pernicious  and  sui 
cidal,  and  should  never  be  copied.  In  many  parts  of 
Europe  the  system  of  rotation  is  biennial,  namely, 
wheat  and  beets  ;  but  it  is  never  adopted  by  the  best 
cultivators,  and  is  rapidly  falling  into  disfavor.  In 
some  countries  beets  are  raised  on  the  same  land 
twice,  and  in  others  three  times,  in  five  years.  The 
triennial  system  is  the  one  generally  in  use  ;  but  among 
the  very  best  cultivators,  beet  is  raised  on  the  same 
soil  only  once  in  four,  or  even  five,  years. 

I  shall  give  the  crops  often  employed  in  Europe  in 
the  triennial  and  quadrennial  systems  of  rotation :  — 

Triennial  System. 

ist  year,  oats  manured,  Or  oats, 

2d     "      beets,  beets  manured, 

3d     "       wheat.  wheat. 

Quadrennial  System. 
ist  year,  wheat,  Or  clover, 

2d     "      beets  manured,  rye  or  oats, 

3d     "      barley  or  oats,  beets  manured, 

4th   "      clover.  •      wheat. 

Where  wheat  is  not  much  cultivated,  rye  may  take 


136  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

its  place.  Potatoes,  if  well  manured,  or  barley,  may 
take  the  place  of  oats. 

The  beet  is  excellent  to  precede  all  grain  crops.  It 
is  a  good  successor  of  potatoes  well  manured,  or  of 
corn,  and  especially  of  rye  or  oats.  It  is  a  good  suc 
cessor  of  tobacco. 

It  is  a  bad  successor  of  clover ;  and  worse  still  of 
turnips,  carrots,  or  forage  beets. 

The  quadrennial  system  of  rotation  permits  quite  a 
range  in  the  selection  of  crops,  and  change  is  bene 
ficial  to  the  soil,  and  consequently  to  the  crops.  It 
would  be  desiraHe  so  to  arrange  the  fields,  that  clover 
should  not  be  raised  on  the  same  soil  oftener  than 
once  in  eight  years. 

BEET  PULP. 

After  the  juice  is  expressed  from  the  rasped  beet, 
the  dry  pulp  remaining  is  an  admirable  food  for  cat 
tle,  sheep,  swine,  or  fowls,  of  which  vast  numbers  are 
fed  in  the  sugar-producing  districts  of  Europe.  The 
average  amount  of  pulp  is  twenty  per  cent,  of  the 
original  weight  of  beets,  and  it  is  almost  a  universal 
custom  for  farmers  to  contract  with  manufacturers 
to  receive  back  in  pulp  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  weight 
of  beets  furnished.  For  this  the  farmer  pays  two 
to  two  and  a  half  dollars  per  ton.  If  the  manufac 
turer  has  any  pulp  remaining  after  his  contracts  with 
the  farmers  are  filled,  he  sells  it  to  others  at  two  dol 
lars  and  seventy-five  cents  to  three  dollars  per  ton. 

Repeated  experiments  have  proved  that  for  feeding 
stock,  three  tons  of  pulp  are  fully  equal  in  value  to 
one  ton  of  the  best  hay.  Cattle  are  very  fond  of  it, 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  137 

and  by  its  use  are  fattened  for  the  market  in  one  hun 
dred  days. 

The  method  of  feeding  stock  upon  it,  employed  at 
Masny,  by  the  Messrs.  Fievet,  the  model  farmers  of 
France,  was  the  following  :  — 

Each  ox  was  allowed  daily 

80  pounds  of  pulp, 
5      "         "    chopped  straw, 
5      "     .    "    oil-cake. 
Each  cow  was  allowed  daily 

70  pounds  of  pulp, 
5      "         "    chopped  straw, 

5  "         "    oil-cake. 
Each  sheep  was  allowed  daily 

6  pounds  of  pulp, 

£      "         "  chopped  straw, 
£      "         "  oil-cake, 
i       "         "  chaff. 

They  fattened  in  this  manner  800  head  of  cattle 
and  3000  sheep  every  year. 

The  Messrs.  Fievet  recommended  the  use  of  chopped 
cornstalks  and  a  small  quantity  of  Indian  meal  for 
the  Western  United  States. 

Chaptal  says  of  the  pulp,  "  This  food  is  almost 
dry ;  it  has  not  the  disadvantages  of  grasses  or  roots, 
nor  of  dry  forage.  It  does  not  ferment,  and  is  not 
laxative,  like  the  former,  nor  does  it  heat  and  produce 
constipation,  like  the  latter.  It  contains  almost  all  the 
nutritive  principles  of  the  beet." 

In  fact,  water   is  the  chief  article  taken  from  the 


138  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

beet  by  rasping  and  pressing,  and  there  still  remains 
from  four  and  a  half  to  six  and  a  half  per  cent, 
of  sugar  in  the  residuum,  besides  other  nutritious 
matter. 

Dombasle  recommends  it,  especially  for  sheep,  and 
also  for  milch  cows,  stating  that  the  quantity,  as  well 
as  the  quality,  of  the  milk,  and  the  color  of  the  butter, 
^re  much  improved  by  its  use. 

M.  Cail,  the  wealthy  and  enterprising  owner  of 
"  La  Briche,"  —  a  splendid  farm  in  the  department  of 
Indre  et  Loire,  —  mixes  his  pulp  with  chopped  straw, 
in  the  proportion  of  five  sixths  of  the  former  to  one 
sixth  of  the  latter.  To  the  oxen,  for  fattening,  he  gives 
150  pounds  of  this  mixture  in  the  winter  months ;  to 
milch  cows,  no  pounds;  and  to  working-cattle,  from 
100  to  150  pounds  daily. 

A  liberal  daily  allowance  for  an  ox  is  75  pounds, 
for  a  cow  60  pounds,  and  for  a  sheep  6  pounds,  with 
chopped  straw,  and  a  little  oil-cake,  or  meal.  Conse 
quently,  if  a  farmer  raises  100  tons  of  beets,  and  takes 
back  from  the  manufacturer  20  tons  of  pulp,  he  has 
the  means  of  feeding,  during  the  five  months  from  the 
first  of  November  to  the  first  of  April,  4  oxen,  or  5 
cows,  or  50  sheep.  The  manufactory  that  consumes 
24,000  tons  of  beets  provides  4,800  tons  of  pulp,  with 
which  may  be  fed,  for  the  five  most  costly  months  of 
the  year,  when  there  is  no  pasturage,  960  oxen,  or 
1,200  cows,  or  12,000  sheep. 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  BEET.  139 

PRESERVATION  OF  THE  PULP. 

Beet  pulp  may  be  kept  perfectly  good  for  several 
years.  I  have  seen  at  Masny  cattle  eat  with  avidity 
that  which  was  two  years  old. 

The  method  of  preservation  there  adopted  was  to 
dig  a  ditch  of  any  required  length,  eight  or  nine  feet 
deep,  and  of  the  same  width,  in  a  soil  so  dry  and 
hard  that  there  was  no  danger  of  the  sides  crumbling. 

The  bottom  of  this  ditch  was  a  little  lower  on  one 
side  than  on  the  other,  to  permit  any  water  that  might 
exude  from  the  mass  to  settle  in  the  lower  part.  The 
pulp  was  then  packed  and  trodden  solid  into  the  ditch, 
raised  one  or  two  feet  above  the  surface  at  the  sides 
of  the  trench  to  allow  for  the  settling  of  the  mass, 
then  built  up  into  the  form  of  a  sharp  roof,  and  the 
whole  covered  with  one  and  one  half  to  two  feet  of 
earth,  beaten  solid  with  the  back  of  a  spade. 

Where  the  soil  is  not  of  a  nature  to  allow  the  walls 
to  stand  safely,  the  pit  is  walled  with  bricks  laid  in 
cement. 

LEAVES. 

The  practice  of  plucking  from  the  beets  a  portion 
of  their  leaves  for  feeding  stock  prevails  in  some  dis 
tricts,  but  it  is  entirely  unadvisable.  When  it  is  done, 
the  stripping  begins  in  the  month  of  August.  Two 
or  three  leaves  are  taken  from  each  plant,  until  a  suffi 
cient  supply  is  obtained  for  the  daily  wants  of  the 
herd. 

The  reasons  why  the  practice  is  a  bad  one  are,  that, 
the  leaves  having  important  functions  to  perform,  the 


140  BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 

removal  of  the  foliage  impairs  those  functions.  Na 
ture  also  makes  an  effort  to  repair  the  loss,  and  new 
leaves  form  at  the  expense  of  sugar  in  the  root.  The 
period  of  maturity  is  also  retarded  ;  consequently  the 
crop  is  less  likely  to  keep  well,  beets  perfectly  ripened 
being  more  easily  preserved  than  those  which  are  less 
ripe. 

The  general  custom  is  at  the  time  of  harvest  to  feed 
to  the  stock  all  the  leaves  they  require,  and  to  spread 
the  remainder  on  the  fields  when  they  are  cut  off,  and 
plough  them  in  while  yet  fresh  and  green.  In  this 
way  they  serve  an  admirable  purpose  as  manure. 

But  they  are  sometimes  gathered  and  put  in  layers 
into  trenches.  Between  each  layer  coarse  salt  is  sprin 
kled  ;  the  pile  is  then  covered  with  a  layer  of  straw,  and 
finally  a  thick  coat  of  earth  is  added. 

LEAVES  USED  AS  FODDER  FOR  MILCH  Cows. 

The  effect  produced  on  milch  cows  by  this  food, 
and  also  the  method  adopted  for  preserving  the  leaves, 
are  shown  in  the  recorded  experiments  of  Drs.  Wels 
and  Tod  of  Maiz-Blanco,  in  Moravia. 

The  experiment  was  made  with  six  cows  of  the 
race  of  that  country.  Their  conditions  were  as  nearly 
similar  in  age,  size,  weight,  yield  of  milk,  and  dura 
tion  of  milking,  as  could  be  desired  for  a  fair  test. 

For  eight  to  twelve  weeks  they  were  fed  daily  with 
thirty-five  pounds  of  beet  pulp,  five  pounds  of  salted 
leaves,  and  six  pounds  of  chopped  barley  straw.  They 
gave  regularly  about  the  same  quantity  of  milk  in  the 
aggregate  and  individually.  After  that  time,  com- 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  141 

mencing  February  7,  three  of  the  cows,  designated  as 
A,  received  each  forty  pounds  of  pulp,  six  pounds 
barley  straw  and  half  an  ounce  of  salt  per  day  for 
four  weeks.  During  the  same  time  each  of  the  three 
cows,  designated  as  B,  received  daily  twenty-six  and 
two  thirds  pounds  of  pulp  and  six  pounds  barley  straw  ; 
they  also  received  daily,  of  salted  leaves,  in  addition, 
for  the  first  week,  thirteen  and  one  half  pounds ;  for 
the  second  week,  sixteen  and  one  half  pounds ;  for 
the  third  week,  twenty  pounds ;  and  for  the  fourth 
week,  twenty-six  and  one  half  pounds. 

The  result  was,  that  the  amount  of  milk  given  by 
the  cows  A  fell  gradually  in  the  four  weeks  from  an 
average  of  25.78  pounds  per  day  to  twenty  pounds 
per  day,  while  the  cows  B  increased  their  average 
daily  production  from  26Tfu-  to  3i-nnr  pounds. 

During  the  next  four  weeks  the  cows  A  were  fed  in 
the  same  manner  that  .he  cows  B  had  been,  and  the 
cows  B  were  put  upon  the  old  diet  of  the  cows  A,  with 
this  exception,  that  they  received,  besides  the  daily  al 
lowance  of  forty  pounds  of  pulp  and  six  pounds  of 
barley  straw,  an  additional  daily  allowance  of  pulp 
to  the  extent  of  twenty-six  and  one  half  pounds  the 
fifth  week,  twenty  pounds  the  sixth  week,  sixteen  and 
one  half  pounds  the  seventh,  and  thirteen  and  one 
half  pounds  the  eighth  week. 

The  result  was,  that  the  cows  A,  now  fed  on  the 
leaves,  gradually  increased  their  average  flow  of  milk, 
until,  at  the  end  of  the  second  period  of  four  weeks, 
the  yield  had  risen  from  20  to  29T5^  pounds,  or  con 
siderably  more  than  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  ex 
periment  eight  weeks  before,  while  the  daily  yield  of 


142 


BEET-ROOT    SUGAR   AND 


cows  B,  fed  chiefly  on  pulp,  fell  from  3iT4o°o-  to  21-f^ 
pounds. 

The  following  is  a  tabular  statement  of  the  result 
for  the  first  four  weeks,  and  of  the  yield  of  cows  A 
for  the  last  four  weeks:  — 


Cows. 

Quantity 
of  pulp. 

Quantity  of 
straw. 

Quantity 
ot  leaves. 

Yield  of  milk, 
first  four  weeks. 

Yield  of  milk5 
last  four  weeks. 

A 
B 
A 

Ibs. 

336° 
2240 
2240 

Ibs. 

5°4 
504 
504 

Ibs. 

1610 
1610 

Ibs. 
618.44 
834.69 

Ibs. 
761.36 

The  daily  yield  of  milk  from  cows  A,  when  fed 
upon  leaves,  rose  from  20  pounds  to  23.75  in  the  fifth 
week,  26.87  m  the  sixth,  28.44  'm  the  seventh,  and 
29.53  in  the  eighth. 

The  milk  produced  by  cows,  — 

A  in  ist  and  2d  week,  on  pulp,  averaged  2.8%  butter. 
B  "  "          on  leaves,      "         3.7         " 

A  in  3d  and  4th  week,  on  pulp,        "         3.  " 

B  "  "          on  leaves,      "        3.9         " 

A  in  5th  and  6th  week,       "  "        3.2         " 

A      7th    "   8th     "  "  "        3.6        " 

The  experiment  ended  April  3d. 

The  conclusions  are,  that  salted  leaves  can  be  pre 
served  ;  that  their  use,  in  conjunction  with  pulp,  in 
creases  the  flow  of  milk  and  yield  of  butter  ;  and  that 
they  are  preferable  to  pulp  alone. 

The  weight  of  leaves  is  about  twenty  per  cent,  of 
the  weight  of  the  roots  ;  therefore  a  factory  that  con 
sumes  24,000  tons  of  beets  annually  furnishes  4,800 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    BEET.  143 

tons  of  pulp,  and  the  beets  furnish  4,800  tons  of 
leaves  —  an  amount  of  fodder  sufficient  to  feed  nearly 
2,000  oxen,  or  2,500  cows,  or  24,000  sheep  for  five 
months. 

The  following  method  is  adopted  for  preserving 
leaves  of  the  sugar  beet :  — 

Ditches  are  dug  and  walled  with  brick,  backed  with 
clay,  and  laid  in  cement,  so  that  the  interior  is  nine 
feet  long,  seven  feet  wide,  five  feet  deep,  and  perfectly 
impervious  to  water.  A  layer  of  leaves,  three  or  four 
inches  thick,  is  spread  on  the  bottom  ;  this  is  sprinkled 
with  coarse  salt ;  then  a  layer  of  chopped  straw  one 
inch  thick  ;  then  another  layer  of  leaves  ;  and  so  on, 
until  the  reservoir  is  filled.  These  are  all  packed 
down  as  solid  as  possible,  and  are  then  covered  with 
six  or  eight  inches  of  long  straw ;  the  whole  is  pro 
tected  with  earth,  or,  better  still,  with  boards,  held  in 
their  places  by  stones.  About  225  pounds  of  salt 
are  required  for  each  pit. 

Advantages  of  Beet   Culture  to  Farmers. 

The  introduction  of  beet  sugar  manufacture  into  the 
United  States  would  be  of  great  benefit  to  farmers.  It 
would  insure  to  them  superior  methods  of  agriculture, 
increased  crops,  more  remunerative  prices,  home  mar 
kets,  and  enhanced  value  of  farms.  It  would  create 
industry,  and  diversify  labor,  thereby  increasing  the 
general  prosperity,  intelligence,  and  happiness  of  the 
community.  It  would  eventually  reduce  the  prices  of 
sugar,  of  bread,  and  of  meat,  and  render  the  United 
States  more  independent  of  foreign  countries. 


APPENDIX. 


SINCE  the  foregoing  pages  were  written,  considerable  in 
formation  has  been  acquired,  which  throws  additional  light 
upon  the  subject  treated  of  in  this  volume,  particularly  in  re 
lation  to  the  cost  and  quality  of  American  beets. 

As  regards  cost,  the  estimates  of  cultivators,  based  upon  re 
sults  on  their  own  farms,  vary  from  75  cents  to  $3.75  per  ton.* 

P.  T.  Quinn,  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  manager  of  the  farm 
of  the  late  Professor  Mapes,  says,  that  after  land  has  been 
"  broken  up"  he  can  cultivate  sugar  beets  at  $16  per  acre,  in 
the  best  manner,  "  not  letting  a  weed  show  itself,"  and  ob 
tain  crops  of  from  25  to  30  tons  per  acre.  The  above  cost 
covering  every  expense,  including  that  of  harvest. 

J.  C.  Thompson,  of  Staten  Island,  says  he  has  obtained  40 
tons  of  sugar  beets  from  an  acre,  and  that  he  can  certainly 
get  30  tons  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  $25,  and  by  extra  pains, 
could  obtain  50  tons. 

Emory  Rider  has  raised  30  tons  per  acre,  at  Hackensack, 
New  Jersey,  and  counts  with  certainty  upon  20  tons,  at  a  cost 
not  exceeding  $28,  including  "pitting"  the  beets. 

Hon.  Ezra  Cornell,  of  Ithaca,  New  York,  has  raised  20  tons 
per  acre,  and  is  confident  that  all  expenses  cannot  exceed  $30, 
or  at  most  $35  per  acre.  He  believes  that  beets  would  be  a 
profitable  crop  at  $2.50  per  ton.  t 

Sugar  beets  have  been  cultivated  on  a  large  scale  in 
Illinois,  upon  the  farm  of  a  wealthy  land  owner,  at  a  cost 

*  As  the  ton  is  generally  reckoned  at  2000  pounds  in  the  United  States, 
the  figures  in  this  Appendix  will  be  based  on  that  weight,  although  in 
the  preceding  volume  the  ton  was  reckoned  at  2240  pounds. 

(144) 


APPENDIX.  145 

of  $30  per  acre,  including  breaking  up  the  prairie.  Crop 
on  raw  prairie  ground  10  tons  per  acre ;  crop  on  improved 
land  15  tons  per  acre.  He  believes  there  is  no  difficulty,  after 
two  or  three  years  of  cultivation,  in  raising  beets  at  $2  per 
ton. 

The  late  William  H.  Belcher,  of  St.  Louis,  believed,  as  the 
result  of  very  extended  and  particular  inquiries  and  observa 
tion,  that  beet  could  be  raised  at  $2  per  ton. 

Theodore  Gennert,  of  Chatsworth,  Illinois,  who  raised  400 
acres  of  beets  last  year,  staced  that  they  cost  less  than  $3 
per  ton,  and  believes  that  when  the  soil  is  fully  subdued  they 
can  be  raised  a  good  deal  cheaper. 

Maurice  A.  Mot  raised  in  1862  ten  acres  of  beets  at  Cherry 
Valley,  near  Newark,  Ohio.  The  soil,  with  the  exception  of 
little  more  than  an  acre,  was  quite  poor,  and  the  crop  very 
light  on  the  poor  land,  but  his  beets  cost  him  only  $2.65  per 
ton.  Several  of  the  neighboring  farmers  offered  to  cultivate 
another  crop  of  beets  on  the  same  ground  the  following  year 
at  $10  per  acre. 

Joseph  Sullivan,  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  says,  "I  have  no 
doubt  that  an  average  yield  of  30  tons  of  beets  per  acre,  upon 
good,  suitable  soil,  moderately  well  cultivated,  can  be  secured. 
Corn  ground  which  produces  sixty-five  bushels  per  acre,  may 
be  easily  made  to  produce  30  or  35  tons  of  beets." 

The  late  John  W.  Massey,  of  Morris,  Illinois,  wrote  in 
1865,  in  relation  to  cost  of  cultivating  beets,  and  their  yield 
in  his  region,  "  that  it  would  take  a  little  more  work  per  acre 
than  corn,  and  probably  less  than  potatoes.  His  experience 
of  more  than  20  years  in  Illinois  led  him  to  believe  that  the 
cost  of  cultivating  an  acre  of  beets  would  be  about  the  same 
as  for  sorghum,  say  about  $30,  and  that  the  crop  was  15  to 
20  tons  per  acre. 

John  W.  Walsh,  of  Chicago,  published  in  1863  a  pamphlet, 
11  Observations  on  Beet  Sugar  and  Sugar-beet  Culture,"  in 
which  he  stated  that  15  tons  per  acre  was  a  fair  yield,  but  18 
to  24  was  not  uncommon.  That  he  had  known  of  frequent 
instances  of  crops  of  36,  39,  and  42  tons,  and  even  as  high  as 
90  tons  being  produced  on  rich  loams. 
IO 


146  APPENDIX. 

Mr.  Sanford  describes,  in  the  Genesee  Farmer,  a  crop 
grown  by  him  of  63  tons  per  acre. 

T.  E.  Payson,  of  Deer  Island,  Boston  Harbor,  raised  73 
tons  long  red  mangel-wurzel  on  an  acre  of  land  in  1866. 

Dr.  Lettson  has  raised  in  England  120  tons  mangel-wurzel, 
tops  and  roots,  on  one  acre.  This  is  equivalent  to  about  96 
tons  of  roots.  Even  this  enormous  yield  has  doubtless  been 
surpassed  in  the  same  country  by  scientific  culture,  for  the 
writer  has  heard  descriptions  of  crops  that  he  cannot  now 
authenticate,  of  over  100  tons  of  roots  per  acre.  The  yield 
of  sugar  beets  is  usually  about  two  thirds  that  of  mangel- 
wurzel. 

The  average  yield  of  sugar  beets  in  France  is  over  20  tons 
per  acre.  It  often  rises  to  50  tons,  while  instances  of  60,  70, 
and  even  90  tons  are  not  uncommon. 

In  Germany  the  yield  varies  from  10  to  25  tons. 

Figures,  made  by  Mr.  Walsh,  to  whom  reference  has  just 
been  made,  indicate  that  in  his  judgment  beets  can  be  raised 
in  the  West  for  less  than  $2  per  ton,  and  that  at  $3  per  ton 
they  would  prove  to  be  very  profitable  to  the  farmer.  The 
average  price  paid  by  European  manufacturers  is  less  than 
$3  per  ton. 

-  The  estimate  of  the  Agricultural  Department  of  the  United 
States  is,  that  they  can  be  raised  at  a  cost  to  sugar  manufac 
turers  of  $2.60  per  ton. 

In  the  light  of  all  this  testimony,  as  well  as  that  on  pages 
26  to  39  of  this  volume,  together  with  the  additional  fact  that 
beets  were  furnished  by  Western  farmers  in  1866,  on  contract, 
for  $3.50  per  ton,  it  is  not  deemed  extravagant  to  assume  that 
sugar  manufacturers  can  be  supplied  with  beets  in  the  West 
at  $4  per  ton. 

The  next  point  to  establish  is  the  saccharine  property  of 
the  beet  of  America  as  compared  with  that  of  Europe. 

The  average  percentage  of  sugar  in  the  French  beet  is  ni, 
and  in  the  German  beet  13.  This  is  the  result  of  many  years 
of  scientific  culture,  by  which  the  original  saccharine  proper 
ties  of  the  beet  have  been  increased. 

There  have  been  hundreds  of  tests  made  in  this  country 


APPENDIX. 


147 


within  a  short  time,  showing  a  range  of  from  8  to  more  than 
17^  per  cent,  of  sugar.  These  experiments  were  made  for  the 
most  part  upon  poorly  cultivated  beets,  grown  for  feeding  to 
stock,  and  not  for  sugar  making,  consequently  bulk,  and  not 
quality,  was  the  desideratum.  It  is  well  known  that  a  skill 
ful  use  of  manures  will  increase  the  saccharine  properties  of 
beets.  None  of  the  American  beets  tested  were  grown  under 
the  most  favorable  circumstances,  yet  the  result  of  the  tests 
is  entirely  satisfactory. 

The  following  table,  showing  the  results  of  a  few  tests,  in 
dicates  the  richness  of  American  beets  : 


Kind  of  Beet. 

White  Sugar, 


Red  Top         7 


Mangel-Wurzel 

Green  Top 
Mangel-Wurzel 


Where  raised. 
Hackensack,  N.  J.,   . 

(t  II 

Roxbury,  Mass., 

tt  u 

Dedham,       " 

Shirley,          " 

it  a 

Deer  Island,  " 
Chatsworth,  Illinois, 

Dedham,  Mass., .  . 
Deer  Island,  "  .  . 
Morris,  Illinois,  .  . 


Percentage 
of  Sugar. 


I2JL. 


.      9  (a)  14. 
average  12. 


Yellow  Globe,     .     .    Deer  Island,  Mass.,      .     .     .      8^. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  above  table,  that  the  white  sugar  beet, 
exclusive  of  those  raised  at  Chatsworth,  averaged  T.2-^%. 
That  those  raised  in  Chatsworth  averaged  124$.  The 
Mangel-Wurzel  average  9$j?o,  and  the  Yellow  Globe  con 
tained  8Ai  %  • 


148  APPENDIX. 

These  tests,  made  in  1866,  as  well  as  others  made  during 
the  past  six  years,  prove  conclusively  to  the  writer's  mind 
that  American  beets  are  richer  in  sugar  than  the  French. 
That  they  are  as  rich  as  those  of  Germany,  and  that  by  prop 
er  culture,  their  saccharine  properties  may  be  increased  at 
least  one  per  cent. 

If,  then,  it  has  been  proved  that  we  can  economically  raise 
beets  in  the  United  States  as  rich  or  richer  in  sugar  than 
those  of  Europe,  it  only  remains,  in  order  to  insure  inde 
pendence  of  the  rest  of  the  world  for  our  future  supplies  of 
sugar,  to  prove  that  sugar  can  be  extracted  from  them  at 
prices  enabling  the  manufacturers  to  compete  with  foreign 
countries. 

The  Germania  Sugar  Company  of  Chatsworth,  Illinois,  to 
which  reference  is  made  on  page  62,  has  solved  the  problem, 
and  although  the  enterprise  has  not  as  yet  proved  an  entire 
success,  yet  the  causes  of  its  partial  and  temporary  failure  are 
so  clear,  and  so  easy  to  avoid,  that  no  person  conversant  with 
the  facts  can  deny  that  the  Company  has  proved  that  the 
manufacture  of  beet  sugar  is  not  only  entirely  practicable, 
but  must  inevitably  be  highly  remunerative. 

I  annex  a  report,  made  to  the  Directors  of  the  Illinois  Cen 
tral  Railroad  Company,  by  R.  W.  Bender,  of  New  York,  who 
visited  Chatsworth  in  January,  at  the  request  of  the  Com 
pany,  to  inquire  into  the  cause  of  the  troubles  which  were 
encountered.  Mr.  Bender  is  a  practical  refiner  of  large  ex 
perience,  and  his  opinion  on  the  subject  of  which  he  treats  is 
conclusive  with  all  who  know  him,  for  in  his  great  desire  not 
to  mislead  others,  he  is  very  conservative  in  the  expression 
of  his  opinion,  taking  care  to  understate  rather  than  to  over 
state  his  estimates  of  the  practicability  of  manufacturing  beet 
sugar  in  the  United  States. 

To  the  Directors  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company : 

GENTLEMEN  : 

Having  recently  returned  from  a  visit  to  the  Beet  Sugar 
Works  at  Chatsworth,  Livingston  Co.,  Illinois,  I  now  report 
the  result  of  my  investigation  of  this  subject. 


APPENDIX.  149 

The  works  are  owned  by  the  Germania  Beet  Sugar  Com 
pany,  located  as  above,  and  are  under  the  management  of  the 
Messrs.  Gennert,  the  original  projectors  of  the  enterprise. 

They  commenced  operations  for  the  season  of  1866,  by 
planting  four  hundred  acres  of  land,  mostly  fresh  prairie, 
from  which  they  have  raised  a  crop  of  more  than  four  thou 
sand  tons  of  fine  beets,  at  a  cost,  according  to  their  estimate, 
of  less  than  four  dollars  per  ton. 

The  beets  are  of  the  White  Silesian  and  Imperial  varieties, 
and  both  have  done  well.  At  the  time  of  harvest,  Messrs. 
Gennert  tested  the  roots  from  all  parts  of  their  farm,  and 
found  the  juice  to  contain  from  nine  to  thirteen  and  a  half 
per  cent,  of  sugar,  by  the  Soleil  Polariscope.  The  average 
of  all  the  tests  showing  twelve  per  cent. 

This  result  is  confirmed  by  the  investigations  made  by 
direction  of  the  Belcher  Sugar  Refining  Company  of  St. 
Louis ;  the  tests  they  made,  showing  an  average  of  twelve 
per  cent,  of  sugar  in  the  juice,  and  in  some  cases  as  high  as 
fourteen  per  cent. 

At  the  time  of  my  visit  (Jan.  29th,  1867),  I  obtained  what 
I  considered  fair  samples  of  the  beet  roots,  and  found  them 
to  contain  from  nine  to  eleven  per  cent,  of  sugar  (in  the 
juice),  with  foreign  substances  amounting  to  about  five  per 
cent. ;  not  a  very  undue  proportion,  considering  the  fact  that 
the  roots  were  principally  grown  in  fresh  prairie  soil,  and 
that  the  fall  season  was  a  wet  one.  My  analysis  of  the  juice 
fully  confirmed  the  results  obtained  by  the  Messrs.  Gennert 
and  the  Belcher  Refining  Company  three  months  previously, 
at  the  time  of  harvest,  and  when  the  process  of  sugar  manu 
facturing  should  have  commenced. 

The  quality  of  beets,  shown  by  the  foregoing  experiments, 
would  yield  7&  per  cent,  of  raw  sugar,  in  color  equal  to  fair 
refining,  but  intrinsically  much  superior;  or  it  would  yield 
5-i  per  cent,  of  sugar  equal  in  every  respect  to  New  York  re 
fined  "B." 

The  beets  raised  by  the  Messrs.  Gennert,  if  successfully 
and  rapidly  worked  up,  would  have  produced  not  less  than 
450,000  pounds  of  refined  sugar. 


150  APPENDIX. 

I  learned  from  Mr.  Gennert  the  following  particulars  of  the 
difficultities  they  have  met  with  in  carrying  on  their  opera 
tions  since  harvest : 

In  the  first  place,  their  machinery,  instead  of  being  com 
pleted  during  the  summer,  so  as  to  be  ready  for  work  by  the 
time  when  the  beets  were  ripe  (in  September),  was  only  got 
in  starting  order  by  the  5th  of  December  last.  They  then 
commenced  operations  with  green  inexperienced  hands,  and 
during  the  first  few  days  made  very  slow  progress,  notwith 
standing  the  beets  were  found  to  work  and  yield  well. 

After  five  days  o'f  work,  December  loth,  the  vacuum-pan 
collapsed,  which  misfortune  entirely  stopped  all  work  until  a 
new  pan  could  be  obtained.  This  was  ready  with  the  be 
ginning  of  the  new  year,  when  they  commenced  again,  only 
to  meet  with  new  discouragements.  First,  the  supply  of 
water  proved  to  be  inadequate  to  their  requirements,  and 
steps  were  immediately  taken  to  deepen  the  wells,  so  as  to 
reach  below  the  hard  pan,  and  they  expect  now  to  have  ob 
tained  a  full  supply  of  water.  The  next,  and  to  a  sugar  man 
ufacturer  the  most  serious  difficulty  of  all,  was  a  too  limited 
supply  of  steam,  which  they  were  trying  to  remedy  at  the 
time  I  was  there.  They  have  depended  on  five  two-flue  boil 
ers,  which  were  not  well  set,  the  smoke  being  carried  through 
a  narrow  breach  flue  into  a  narrow  and  low  sheet-iron  smoke 
stack  ;  the  entire  arrangement  being  not  well  adapted  for  the 
proper  consumption  of  the  Lasalle  or  Fairbury  coal.  The 
workmen  about  the  place  seemed  to  think  the  insufficient 
supply  of  steam  the  main  drawback  to  success.  In  all  other 
respects  the  works  appear  to  be  well  appointed.  They  are 
built  to  run  on  the  centrifugal  system,  and  are  provided  with 
clarifiers,  scum-presses,  bone-black  filters,  retorts,  vacuum- 
pan,  and  such  other  machinery  as  is  generally  found  in  a 
manufactory  of  this  class. 

All  machinery  is  of  modern  construction  and  well  adapted 
to  the  work.  The  capacity  of  the  manufactory  is  estimated 
to  be  equal  to  50  tons  of  beets  per  day.  During  the  few  days 
the  works  have  been  in  operation  they  have  turned  out  about 
eighteen  thousand  pounds  of  sugar  (two  thirds  of  which  was 


APPENDIX.  151 

equal  to  N.  Y.  Ref.  B.),  which  was  the  product  of  an  unknown 
quantity  of  beet  roots,  as  I  found  they  had  not  kept  any  rec 
ord  of  the  quantity  brought  from  the  pits  to  the  factory. 
The  pulp  was  not  watered  in  the  centrifugals,  so  as  to  save 
evaporation.  The  juice  was  boiled  blank,  and  placed  in 
large  tanks  to  crystallize.  This  course  was  mainly  taken  to 
economize  the  use  of  steam.  The  first  product  granulated  in 
twenty-four  hours  and  the  second  in  three  days,  so  as  to  go 
in  centrifugal  machines.  I  could  see  nothing  of  the  third 
product.  I  very  much  regret  that  the  Messrs.  Gennert  could 
not  give  me  an  accurate  account  of  the  cost  of  cultivating 
their  beets ;  the  estimate,  as  I  have  already  said,  was  less 
than  four  dollars  per  ton.  It  is  also  to  be  regretted  that  no 
account  of  the  weight  of  beets  taken  to  the  factory  was  kept, 
although  any  calculation  made  on  that  basis  would  be  un 
fair,  considering  the  irregular  operations  of  the  factory  and 
the  deterioration  in  the  saccharine  properties  of  the  roots 
from  long  delay  in  working. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  difficulties  the  Messrs.  Gennert 
have  encountered  (most  of  which,  however,  were  avoidable 
and  should  have  been  foreseen),  I  found  that  they  manifest 
no  feeling  of  discouragement,  and  I  fully  anticipate  their  suc 
cess  another  season.  The  result  of  my  investigations,  added 
to  my  previous  knowledge  of  the  subject,  more  than  ever  con 
firms  my  belief  in  the  speedy  and  successful  development  of 
this  branch  of  agricultural  industry.  And  this  feeling  is  al 
ready  widely  entertained  through  the  West,  where  suitable 
lands  and  abundance  of  fuel  can  be  had  at  low  prices,  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  a  ready  market  for  all  products  of  the 
manufactory. 

In  conclusion  I  will  say,  that  I  know  of  nothing  to  prevent 
an  individual  or  company,  possessed  of  a  knowledge  of  the 
subject,  making  this  a  business  of  large  profits  from  the  be 
ginning. 

Very  truly  yours, 
(Signed,)  R.  W.  BENDER. 

NEW  YORK,  Feb.  12, 1867. 


152  APPENDIX. 

I  also  annex  extracts  from  a  letter  written  by  Charles 
Belcher,  President  of  the  Belcher  Sugar  Refining  Company 
of  St.  Louis. 

*  *  *  *  * 

To-day  Mr.  Holm  had  a  short  letter  from  Theodore  Gen- 
nert,  who  returned  a  fortnight  since.  He  states  that  they 
are  still  making  sugar,  and  with  satisfactory  results,  and  will 
continue  to  work  their  beets  until  it  becomes  necessary  to 
look  after  out  of  door  work.  He  speaks  well  of  the  quality 
of  the  juice. 

***** 

From  all  I  know  or  have  heard,  I  would  suppose  $4  per 
ton,  $40  per  acre,  a  very  liberal  estimate  for  the  cost  of  rais 
ing  and  harvesting  beets.  Gennert  told  me  he  kept  a  pretty 
accurate  account  of  the  cost  of  raising  his  crop  of  beets  two 
years  since,  and  that  $3  per  ton  would  cover  it.  I  would 
think  also  that  if  properly  prepared  for  the  work,  with  suita 
ble  buildings,  machinery,  apparatus,  and  fixtures,  and  with 
well-informed  and  judicious  management,  the  cost  of  mak 
ing  sugar  from  the  beets  should  not  exceed  $4  per  ton  of 
beets. 

I  cannot  see  any  good  reason  why,  with  the  right  prepara 
tions  and  good  management,  about  as  good  results  cannot 
be  obtained  from  beet  sugar  making  in  this  country  as  in 
Europe. 

***** 

Mr.  Gennert  was  not  properly  prepared  for  working  his 
beets  advantageously  and  profitably;  he  has  made  mistakes 
in  his  calculations  and  arrangements,  and  his  business  this 
year  will  not  be  a  success ;  but  he  seems  to  have  shown  us 
that  beets  can  be  raised  in  sufficient  quantity,  and  we  have 
evidence  that  they  have  sugar  in  them  that  would  pay  well 
for  the  working  in  Europe. 

I  have  felt  that  it  would  be  a  great  advantage  to  this  coun 
try  if  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar  could  be  successfully 
introduced,  and  we  have  assisted  Gennert's  enterprise  by 
loaning  him  machinery  and  subscribing  to  his  company,  to 


APPENDIX. 


153 


aid  in  developing  it ;  and  I  have  all  along  had  strong  faith 
in  its  practicability,  and  still  have  it. 

*  *  *  *  * 

Yours  truly, 

(Signed,)  CHARLES  BELCHER. 

ST.  Louis,  March  19,  1807. 

I  also  annex  an  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Ben 
der  on  the  subject :  —  . 

NEW  YORK,  March  10,  1807. 
***** 

Ere  long  I  expect  to  see  general  attention  directed  to  this 
industry.  An  impetus  once,  and  properly  given,  must  de 
velop  the  manufacture  of  domestic  sugar  rapidly,  spreading 
its  benefits  all  over  the  land,  enriching  the  farmer  and  the 
mechanic,  opening  new  channels  of  support  to  thousands, 
stimulating  good  husbandry  and  inventive  genius.  As  early 
as  1861  I  felt  convinced  that  the  "sorghum  cane,"  from  the 
chemical  nature  of  its  juice,  and  from  the  difficulty  of  bring 
ing  it  to  maturity,  would  prove  a  failure  as  a  sugar  producer, 
and  only  a  partial  success  as  a  syrup  producer,  and  that  for 
the  range  of  the  Northern  States,  the  sugar  beet  only  pos 
sessed  all  the  qualifications  for  extensive  and  reliable  pro 
duction  of  sugar  in  an  eminent  degree.  I  induced,  at  that 
time,  William  H.  Belcher,  of  the  St.  Louis  and  Chicago  refin 
eries,  to  import  some  beet  seed  from  Europe,  which,  for  exper 
iment,  we  distributed  amongst  farmers  in  the  West,  and  the 
results  were  of  the  most  encouraging  character.  Further 
investigations  by  us  and  others  in  the  following  years  satis 
fied  us  that  the  yield  per  acre  was  10  to  20  tons,  at  a  cost  of 
less  than  $4  per  ton ;  that  the  saccharine  qualities  of  the 
American  beet  are  equal  to  those  of  the  European,  and  that 
there  is  no  more  difficulty  in  making  sugar  in  America  from 
beets  than  there  is  in  Europe ;  and  further,  that  from  sugar- 
beet  a  good  merchantable  raw  sugar  can  be  produced  at  a 
cost  of  less  than  jive  cents  per  pound,  such  sugar  being  worth 
in  New  York  to-day,  taking  the  color  as  a  standard,  10  cents  ; 
but  intrinsically,  its  value  would  be  much  greater;  the  small 
er  admixture  of  grape  sugar  warranting  to  the  refiner  a 
larger  yield  of  refined  sugar,  and  less  in  syrup. 


154  APPENDIX. 

By  the  death  of  Mr.  Belcher,  two  years  since,  this  industry 
lost  one  of  its  warmest  supporters.  For  my  own  part,  I  never 
had  sufficient  liberty  of  action  to  engage  myself  in  this  business, 
although  I  have  constantly  endeavored  to  interest  people  in  a 
matter  which  I  consider  of  the  utmost  importance  to  this  nation. 
(Signed,)  R.  W.  BENDER. 

I  also  annex  extracts  from  a  letter  written  by  A.  J.  Cor 
ning,  a  chemist  and  sugar  refiner,  who  has  been  for  several 
years  engaged  in  the  Adams  Sugar  Refinery  of  Boston  : 

NEW  YORK,  March  15,  18GG. 

***** 

All  my  inquiries  tend  to  convince  me  that  beets  can  be 
raised  under  $4  per  ton,  and  from  my  experience  in  refineries 
I  should  say  that  the  sugar  can  be  extracted  easily  at  3  cents 
per  pound.  Assuming  the  yield  of  sugar  to  be  6  per  cent., 
which  is  much  below  the  usual  yield  (a  German  who  has 
had  charge  of  a  manufactory  in  Germany  told  me  that  he 
obtained  95  %,  while  a  neighbor  obtained  9!  $),  we  would 
have  the  following  as  the  cost  per  pound  of  sugar  : 

2240  Ibs.  beets $4.00 

6  %  sugar  =  134  Ibs.  (a)  3  cents 4.02 

Total  cost  per  ton $8.02 

134  Ibs.  sugar  (a)  6  cents 8.04 

Giving  the  cost  of  producing  at  6  cents  per  Ib.  for  sugar  a 
great  deal  better  for  refining  than  the  sugar  we  import  for 
that  purpose  at  from  9  to  12  cents  per  Ib.  The  sugar  is  what 
refiners  term  "strong"  (containing  very  little  foreign  mat 
ter),  and  yields  a  larger  percentage  of  refined  sugar  than  that 
of  Cuba. 

The  sugar  of  the  beet  is  identical  with  that  of  the  cane,  and 
possesses  the  same  sweetening  power. 

The  manufacture  of  beet  sugar  in  this  country  is  deserv 
ing  of  the  highest  consideration,  both  as  regards  the  de 
velopment  of  our  agricultural,  manufacturing,  and  commer 
cial  interests. 

(Signed,)  A.  J.  CORNING. 


APPENDIX.  155 

Mr.  Bender  and  Mr.  Corning  are  both  confident  that  an 
abundant  supply  of  beets  can  be  obtained  by  manufacturers 
at  from  $3  to  $4  per  ton ;  that  they  can  be  manufactured 
into  sugar  at  from  $3.50  to  $4  per  ton ;  and  that  they  will 
certainly  yield  6  %  of  white  sugar,  worth  in  Chicago  at  least 
fourteen  cents  per  pound. 

Assuming  that  their  figures  are  correct,  of  which  there  is 
not  a  particle  of  doubt,  and  taking  their  highest  estimates  as 
the  basis  for  a  calculation,  the  following  result  could  be  pro 
duced  by  a  company  with  $350,0x30  capital,  which  is  sufficient 
to  erect  a  mill  of  a  capacity  to  work  30,000  tons  of  beets  each 
season. 

30,000  tons  of  beets,  costing  $4  per  ton   .     .     .  $120,000 

30,000     "         "  to  work  $4      "        ...     120,000 


$240,000 
Producing 
i, 800  tons  sugar  (being  6  %}  at  14  cents  per  lb., 

or  $280  per  ton $504,000 

6,000  tons  pulp  (a)  $2 12,000 

900    "     molasses  (a)  $20 18,000 


Less  expenses 240,000 


Profit  (being  84  %  on  capital),      .....        294,000 


In  the  pamphlet  of  Mr.  Walsh,  to  which  reference  has  been 
made,  he  says,  — 

"  The  introduction  of  beet  sugar  as  a  staple  product  of  the 
United  States,  but  especially  for  the  vast  fertile  prairies  of 
the  West,  has  claimed  the  profound  attention  of  statesmen 
and  eminent  practical  citizens  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  Much  has  been  written  upon  it;  much  information 
has  been  diffused;  many  interesting  and  thorough  experi 
ments  have  been  made,  and  the  general  results  have  been 
in  the  highest  degree  satisfactory.  All  the  inquiries  and 
investigations  that  have  been  made,  and  facts  gathered, 


156  APPENDIX. 

strengthen  the  conviction  that  it  is  only  necessary  to  engage 
systematically  in  the  culture  of  the  root  and  the  manufacture 
of  sugar  in  the  United  States,  to  insure  results  of  the  highest 
national  importance,  and  establish  in  our  borders  a  tillage 
that  will  improve  our  system  of  husbandry,  an  employment 
that  will  give  a  wider  scope  to  our  energy  and  industry,  and 
a  manufacture  that  will  supply  us  in  abundance  with  a  great 
staple  of  consumption,  for  the  largest  portion  of  which  we 
are  now  dependent  upon  other  countries  to  supply. 

"  In  1837-8  Henry  Clay  was  actively  interested  in  the  ques 
tion  of  beet  sugar  as  a  crop  for  the  United  States.  He  had 
watched  the  rise  and  progress  of  this  industry  in  France : 
had  made  himself  familiar  with  the  details  of  the  culture  of 
the  root,  the  manner  of  extracting  its  sugar,  the  success  at 
tending  it  as  an  economical  measure,  and  his  sagacious  mind 
grasped  at  once  the  full  importance  of  this  grand  national 
resource  for  the  great  West,  which  he  loved  so  well.  He 
made  it  a  topic  of  his  letters  ;  he  introduced  it  in  his  speeches  ; 
his  conversation  abounded  with  allusions  to  it;  and  he  has 
left  on  record  full  evidence  of  the  constant  faith  he  had  that 
the  West  would  some  day  be  as  famous  for  its  production  of 
sugar  as  it  has  become  for  the  production  of  the  cereals. 
The  granary  of  the  world,  it  may  also  be  the  sugar-grower 
for  the  world.  It  is  the  home  of  intelligence,  and  industry, 
and  enterprise;  and  these  forces,  united  to  the  exhaustless 
producing  capacity  of  the  soil,  will  secure  success  in  what 
ever  undertaking  her  farmers  and  her  men  of  activity  may 
engage. 

"  But  it  was  not  Mr.  Clay  alone  whose  inquiries  kept  pace 
with  the  progress  and  improvements  in  the  beet  sugar  manu 
facture,  and  who,  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  qualities  of  the 
root,  the  nature  of  our  climate,  and  the  capacities  of  the  soil, 
had  full  faith  in  the  peculiar  adaptation  of  this  culture  and 
manufacture  to  a  very  large  portion  of  the  Uuited  States. 

"From  time  to  time  fields  have  been  cultivated  with  beet 
root,  for  the  express  purpose  of  sugar-making;  and  in 
numerous  instances  that  could  be  cited,  —  that  are  indeed 
recorded  in  the  pages  of  agricultural  journals  of  the  day.  — the 


APPENDIX.  157 

success  of  the  efforts  and  experiments  has  proved  fully  com 
mensurate  with  the  expectations  that  had  been  entertained. 
Sugar  of  the  first  quality  has  been  produced,  and  with  no 
more  trouble  than  is  experienced  in  the  manufacture  of 
maple  sugar.  These  processes  have  been  carried  on  in 
Maine,  in  Massachusetts,  in  New  York,  in  Pennsylvania,  in 
Ohio,  and  in  Illinois,  with  equal  success. 

"  But,  though  the  experiments  alluded  to  amounted  to 
actual  demonstration,  no  experiment  or  enterprise  on  a  large 
scale,  with  machinery  or  equipments  to  manufacture  sugar  in 
large  quantities,  was  attempted.  Indeed  the  prevailing  idea 
seemed  to  be,  at  that  time,  to  introduce  beet-sugar  as  a  do 
mestic  manufacture,  and  efforts  were  directed  rather  to  the  in 
troduction  of  processes  and  machinery  whereby  each  farmer 
might  make  his  own  sugar,  than  to  the  establishment  of  the 
business  on  a  large  scale.  If  this  was  an  error,  as  we  are 
disposed  to  think  it  was,  no  great  harm  arose  from  it,  inas 
much  as,  from  the  prevailing  low  price  of  sugars,  interest  in 
the  subject  subsided,  and  finally  it  was  laid  aside  altogether. 

"  The  truth  is,  the  country  was  not  ripe  for  the  enterprise. 
It  did  not  feel  the  need  of  emancipating  itself  from  depend 
ence  upon  the  sugar  of  other  nations.  The  people  were  re 
covering  from  the  great  commercial  disaster  of  1837,  and  new 
enterprises  and  new  speculations  that  promised  readier  and 
greater  returns  engaged  their  energies, 

"  Besides,  the  country  was  not  ripe  for  it  in  another  respect. 
We  were  less  than  twenty  millions  of  people.  The  emigra 
tion  to  the  West  was  draining  the  young  and  active  elements 
of  the  population  from  the  old  States,  and  the  emigrants 
were  more  intent  upon  establishing  their  domiciles  in  new 
locations  than  upon  engaging  in  new  manufactures.  Those 
great  States,  which  have  outstripped  in  population,  wealth, 
and  influence  so  many  of  the  older  States,  were  then  set 
tling;  their  character  had  not  been  determined;  their  re 
sources  had  not  been  ascertained ;  their  great  and  glorious 
future  had  not  been  revealed. 

"  We  are  now  in  a  changed  condition  of  things :  our  twenty 


158  APPENDIX. 

millions  have  increased  to  more  than  thirty  millions,  and  the 
ratio  of  increase  is  undiminished.  The  West  has  become 
settled.  It  wants  and  must  have  new  staples  from  the  teem 
ing"  soil,  new  employments  for  labor,  and  cannot  afford  to 
let  any  source  of  wealth  go  unimproved. 

"  Besides,  the  war  has  disturbed  the  routine  into  which  we 
had  fallen,  imposed  new  burdens  and  new  duties  upon  us, 
and  has  pointed  significantly  to  the  controlling  duty  which 
devolves  upon  us  to  strive  to  render  the  country  independent 
of  foreign  supplies  for  those  great  articles  of  consumption 
which  form  the  necessities  of  life.  If  the  war  has  taxed  our 
means,  it  has  aroused  our  energies ;  if  it  has  disturbed  our 
peaceful  pursuits,  it  has  developed  our  strength ;  if  it  has 
tried  our  system  of  government,  it  has  shown  us  that  we  have 
unequalled  elements  of  greatness. 

"  The  exigencies  of  the  war  have  aroused  the  nation  to  an 
attentive  consideration  of  everything  that  will  make  for  the 
common  advantage ;  and  new  employments  are  opened  be 
fore  us  for  our  abundant  land,  capital,  and  men.  Situated 
midway  between  the  continents  of  the  old  world,  in  temper 
ate  latitudes,  with  every  variety  of  soil,  and  land  sufficient  for 
the  sustenance  of  one  half  the  estimated  population  of  the 
globe,  there  is  nothing  to  hinder  us  from  producing,  in  the 
most  profuse  abundance,  everything  which  is  produced  in 
the  same  zone  in  other  lands." 


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